Keys of Perdition
by FairyGirl12
Summary: I don't own the picture. Natsu and Happy have left for a year of training and Fairy Tail has been disbanded. Lucy must face her past on her own, she's going to get stronger and stop running away. She can't let him kill anyone close to her again, she'll protect her friends to the death.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

 **AN: Okay this is my first story, as you can probably tell I'm not quite sure how to write dialogue yet. I'm very open to suggestions and would love advice on how to make the story better! (cause if the story doesn't make sense then who would ever keep reading it?) *POSSIBLE SPOILERS* if you have not read the manga.**

 _2 months after Natsu and Happy left for their year of training_

She...she's dead.

Lucy awoke with a start. Panting while she grasped her chest she looked around her room, she was covered in a cold sweat and her legs were knotted intricately with her blanket. Eventually leaning forward she put her head into her knees, giving into the night sobs that hadn't plagued her since she'd arrived in Magnolia. Why now? Why did it have to resurface while her friends were gone? Did even her subconscious mind realize that she was alone now? Her very last friend had left Magnolia that very evening, saying goodbye to Lucy.

"Lucy you promise to write me, right?"

"Of course Levy! Now go have fun meeting up with Gajeel in the capitol!" She said wiggling her eyebrows.

Blushing Levy mumbled"We're just going to be working together" Lucy laughed and after a long embrace she shooed her friend away to board the train. As the train was pulling away she felt her heart start to twinge. "Not now", she thought "just little longer. Once you get home you can cry your eyes out, okay Lu?" She waved until her friend was out of sight then headed home. Locking the door behind her, Lucy rested her head against it trying to get control of her breathing. She'd been doing this ever since Natsu left, telling herself she could cry later but not letting it happen when the promised time came around. She just couldn't get herself to allow it. She told herself all kinds of excuses as one by one her friends left town "Natsu wouldn't want you to cry...Don't cry in front of your friends, you wouldn't want to make them sad...Big girls don't cry Lu". Each excuse made her heart feel a little more constrained but she would smile for her friends when they were looking so that they wouldn't start their brand new lives with her crying face in their mind's eye.

This was a different kind of crying though, she'd always allowed herself these tears. _She_ was dead after all and the dead deserved to be mourned. Eventually her tears of renewed shock subsided as she coaxed herself to turn them off, she felt her heart squeeze and her face relax. She sat up and untangled her legs, swinging over the side of the bed she walked over to her desk in a daze. She opened a drawer and pulled out a leather bound notebook from the bottom of the rest of her notebooks and letters to her mother. Kneeling down she slowly opened it, revealing the blood soaked pages within.

" _Miss Lucy, I want you to know...this isn't your fault" Sophia croaked as she grasped Lucy's hand._

" _Don't go!"_

" _I wish I wasn't Miss, but it seems my time has come early. Please know Lucy, none of this is your fault..." She repeated._

" _But he wouldn't have hurt you if it wasn't for me!" Lucy cried "I wish you'd never known me!" Suddenly she felt a slap across her cheek, she stared at Sophia in shock as the flames engulfed more and more around them._

 _Pointing a finger at her Sophia said "I will NEVER regret the time that we had together Little Lu., and though I could never replace your mother," she placed her hand gently to the young girls stinging cheek "I still thought of you as a daughter."_

 _Lucy desperately bargained "If you stay I could be your daughter! I'd let you be my mom!" At this point the man was starting to twitch from his forced slumber. Sophia frantically looked at him then back to Lucy._

" _Miss you must run while he can't chase you," Lucy started to protest, "Your father hired me to help protect and raise you, don't make my sacrifice be in vain, I want you to live...Please Little Lu...I want you to live..." Sophia gasped as another wave of pain tormented her body, after it passed she took a deep breath trying to swallow her pain so it wouldn't seems so gruesome, the man was starting to groan and attempt to lift his head. Sophia grasped both of Lucy's arms and squeezed her in a crying hug, letting go she forced Lucy to look into her eyes "I love you MIss" her eyes tearing up "so very very much...now...GO!" Sophia shouted with a shove to Lucy's chest making her fall backwards onto her skirt._

 _Nodding Lucy choked out "I love you too." Sophia smiled at her encouragingly as she started to stand, tears were flooding her eyes and blurring her vision as she slowly turned away, as she started dragging her feet in no particular direction she took one look back. Sophia's eyes were closed and her face was relaxed, Lucy's eyes widened realizing she was gone. "She...she's dead..." she thought in disbelief, and with that terrifying thought in her head she sobbed and ran away from the burning carnage. She ran to get away from death...to get help... to escape the man._

 _She hadn't even registered she was clutching a notebook until her father found her, covered in soot and bloody glass. Once he'd found out what had happened he called a servant to clean her up while he called the police. She was sitting on her bed waiting for her bath when she was shocked to see herself tightly gripping a bloody notebook, she'd flipped through it, wondering where it had come from until she realized...it was his. But how had she ended up with the man's notebook? Feeling disgusted with the thing she threw it the floor where it landed with the inside cover showing. Enraged she'd almost stomped on it until she noticed what the inside cover said..._

 _Property of: Solomon Tenebris._

Stopping the memory there Lucy sighed while she once again looked through the pages of reasons that Solomon had caused such horrific events, he had done it because, according to him, she was _The_ celestial wizard. The one that could unlock all the doors to an unstoppable army. Ever since Solomon had killed her governess Lucy had been plagued with nightmares of his return. She knew it was only a matter of time before she would see him again, it had been one of the many points she had used to justify running away from home. Lucy was a danger to those around her so when she'd finally felt old enough to take care of herself she'd left, she didn't know what she'd do if any more of her servants/friends were hurt or killed because of her, one had been devastating enough. She knew they were still in danger just from knowing her at all, but she figured putting some distance between her and the people she cared about could only benefit them. After a time on the road Lucy realized the best chance she had for survival and protection would be to learn more about her magic and improve her skill as much as possible, that's when she'd decided to join a guild. Fairy Tail seemed like the most unlikely place for anyone to look for her, with her lady-like upbringing and the guild's renowned rowdiness she'd doubted anyone would put the two together very easily. When Natsu had brought her back to Fairy Tail Lucy had no idea just how dear these wizards would become to her. As time went on they proved their friendship to each other and their tenacity with every obstacle that came their way, and because of that Lucy finally felt safe. She felt that if Solomon ever did come for her she'd be able to defeat him as long as she had her guild family, but then Natsu left and the next day Fairy Tail disbanded, suddenly she was alone again. Not only was she alone she'd also exposed herself and her location along with who was close to her, Solomon would know and now she was vulnerable without her friends around her. "I suppose that explains why the nightmare is back..." Lucy thought to herself, she'd need to start preparing much more seriously. Starting tomorrow she would start serious training so she could fight Solomon without her friends by her side and if it came down to it...kill him.

 **There ya go, feel free to tear it apart, I want to learn...sure I'd _prefer_ for you to be nice, but this is the internet so I'm going to be realistic...someone's going to be mean, so bring it!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

 **AN: There's a chapter before this one however I'm not sure how to connect them yet...I'm sorry, but for now here's the link.**

 **s/11961740/1/Keys-of-Perdition**

 **Okay this one is a** ** _little_** **long...I promise things will be getting more exciting with next chapter! I'm sorry if the formatting makes it hard to read, let me know if you have any advice on how to make it better!**

Lucy had been paying the bills with random modeling gigs every once in awhile, she figured he already knew where she was so it wouldn't make much of a difference until she moved on, but the day after Levy left Jason had telegraphed her letting her know that she had gotten the job and they needed her there as soon as possible! Lucy had immediately replied letting him know she'd pack up and head to the capital the next day. So here she was 2 1/2 weeks later finally settled into her schedule and apartment. Lucy had figured this job would be one of the best for keeping track of her friends while earning money at the same time, and if Solomon escaped and attacked someone, she'd hear about it. She decided that if she ever received the chance to write articles she'd go by the pen name "Lucky" that way she'd remain anonymous and off the grid.

She hated not writing any of her friends, especially when she knew where they were, but tracking them would have to be enough until she was satisfied with her training. She had spoken with her spirits letting them know her plans, setting up training with each of them. They were a bit hesitant at first knowing how hard she tended to push herself, but she eventually reassured them that she wouldn't, they remained a bit reluctant but agreed. While she trained with all of them over the course of the week she decided to focus on one specific spirit each week that she'd work with everyday in addition to the other spirits, the first week would be Loke. After his week would be Virgo, next was Aries, then Scorpio etc...

Walking into a magic shop after her first several weeks of rigorous training she decided to start looking for more silver key spirits. There were a few she was especially keen on getting someday. She asked the store owner if they had anything.

"Yes Ma'am," said the gruff store owner "however at the moment we only have two."

"I'll take em." she said without batting an eye.

"But you don't even.. "

"Yes, you're right," she interrupted "What are their names?"

He stroked his mustache for a moment, eyeing her before he reached below his desk and brought out two small wooden cases.

"This here is Lupus" clicking it open he allowed her to examine it. "And this one is Chameleon" letting her gaze at them he leaned back with his thumbs under his suspenders and waited.

Lucy picked up Lupus, twisting and flipping the key "How much?" she asked examining it for any damage.

"Let's go with 9,500 jewel" he said.

"Each?!" Shocked Lucy slammed her hands onto the countertop, forgetting she still held the key "whoops, sorry Lupus" she apologized.

"Yup, celestial keys are pretty rare so I figure I should make a pretty penny off 'em." his eyes were gleaming as he waited for her reply. Oh. it. Was. On. Work had been crap hole earlier with crying models and screaming bosses, Lucy didn't think she could take much more without lashing out. Jason had sent her on her lunch break early giving her look of consolidation as she tiredly thanked him and left. This store owner had no idea what he was in for.

"Well I happen to know that celestial wizards are even more rare, so the odds of you selling them soon are pretty slim" she replied, she didn't grow up being a merchant's daughter without learning a thing or two "so _I figure_ you'll actually lose money on them if you can't get them out of your store in a reasonable amount of time. Tell me, how long do you keep your inventory before it goes on sale?"

Sputtering the owner tried to interject "Now listen here.."

" _Or_ " she interjected, "I _could_ just order them from a catalog, where the prices are lower...and fixed" she said emphasizing the last word and folding her arms over her chest as she glared at the owner. Normally she would have used her womanly figure to get her way, but she wasn in no mood for that today. No, today she was out for blood and he was the perfect victim.

"So by all means, keep them at that price. I'll just take my business somewhere else, I'm sure other shop owners will see the opportunity to have a loyal customer when they see it." At that the mention of a loyal customer the owner seemed to soften and smiled.

"Hafta admit," eyeing her up and down " gettin someone who looks like you to regularly occupy the place would be great for business."

"Glad you're seeing things more clearly," smirking Lucy clicked the boxes closed "So how about this, as a sign of good faith to a new _loyal_ customer, how about I pay 9,500 Jewel...for both."

Laughing and shaking his head he said "You've got a shrewd mind behind those pretty eyes, but you've got yourself a deal for today missy, but don't expect me to sway so easily next time." the shop owner extended his hand to her.

Shaking on it Lucy winked at him "Good choice, you've officially got yourself a loyal celestial customer!"

"Wonderful! Now, how will I let you know when I've got more in?"

"Send a note to Sorcerer's Weekly, it's where I'm working, though it feels more like I'm living there."

"I know the feeling missy," He said with content smile "I'll start looking right away."

"Thank you sir" she called as she dropped the money, scooped up the keys and dashed out the door. "Bye!"

"G'bye little miss!" after she left the shop owner realized she'd never given him her name... _strange_...

After Lucy reached her new home that night she pulled out tea and cookies for her new spirits, wanting them to feel as welcome as possible while they made their contract and got to know each other. She'd never really had silver keys with much combative strength and while she loved all her spirits for who they were, she was definitely hoping for some fighters. She'd decided she'd make her contracts simultaneously this time since her day had been rather long. She could almost hear her bed calling her name, but it'd need to wait just a little longer. Gingerly she set her ring of gold and silver keys on the table next to the boxed keys she'd placed there earlier. Opening one at random she raised the key in front of her.

"Open! Gate of the Wolf! Lupus!"

"AAAAAAAOOOOOoooooooooo" Lucy stumbled back from the howl and flash of light. When the light and sparkles faded she saw standing across from her...errr...a man...wolf? Lupus's white wolf ears twitched forward, he was at _least_ two feet taller than her! Lucy tilted her head examining the spirit in front of her. He wore shoulder armor that crawled from the tops of his elbows to his collarbone and secured a ragged black cape across his back. His shaggy white hair brushed the tops of his shoulder armor and partially covered his narrowed arctic blue eyes that were darting around, calmly taking in his surroundings. If his height wasn't intimidating enough then his hands and feet were! At the end of limbs that seemed just a _little_ too long for his body were hands that looked more like claws and feet that were elongated and ended in sharp nails. He wore no shirt to cover his torso, the leather straps from his shoulder armor visibly crisscrossing his chest. His brown pants reached a little above his ankles and were torn in several places.

"Are you done?" He growled arching one furry white brow.

Snapping her head up Lucy gulped "oh...right...hi" she squeaked out with a small wave of her fingers. The brow dropped and his serious demeanour immediately changed.

"Hi there!" with a lopsided grin that revealed prolonged canines, he reached for one of her hands with both of his huge claws and eagerly started shaking it. "How's your day going?"

"Ummm..good. Thanks.." This intimidating giant was acting almost like an eager puppy! She thought this was odd but then again none of her spirits were very "normal" so she just shook her head to clear her thoughts and pressed on.

"If you'd like to take a seat I'm going to call one more new spirit so we can kill two birds with one stone tonight."

"Oooooo so you can open two gates at once? That's very impressive it's been awhile since I've had an Alpha that can do that."

"Actually three," thinking back to the Tartorus incident she sobered for a moment, "but I have to admit I've been practicing so long with the zodiac spirits that two silver keys shouldn't be a problem, feel free to have a scone while I call the next spirit over" she said plastering a sweet smile on her face, she didn't want to make the spirit uncomfortable so she'd try her best to make friends as fast as possible. It was nice making new friends, it helped the apartment not feel so...cold.

"Open! Gate of the Chamaeleon! Chamaeleon!" Another flash of light and standing before her was a girl who looked about 14 years old. Remembering her manners this time Lucy welcomed her right away. While she invited her to take a seat and offered scones and tea to both of them she studied the new comer. The girl had brought a wooden bo staff which was currently resting on the back of her cushy chair, it curved into a subtle S shape with a center hand hold that looked like some sort of black metal. The young girl wore dark purple armor with a deep emerald green lining that exposed her stomach. Her hair was pulled into a long side ponytail that draped over her left shoulder and ended in one swirling curl, smiling to herself Lucy realized it looked like a the curl of a chameleon's tail at rest. However her most shocking trait had to be her hair's color, starting in a dark orange at the roots it faded to a deep red which slowly got darker and darker as it traveled down until it seemed to almost dissolve into a beautiful dark purple at its curled end.

"Alright, let's get to it," she finally said with clap, breaking up their eating and small talk "I'm Lucy Heartfilia and I'd like to make contracts with both of you, do either of you have any objections?" After they shook their heads she continued. "Perfect! Lupus how about we start with you" she pulled out a notepad and pen "what days would you like free?"

"Sundays and Wednesday mornings would work perfectly." Giving her that wolfish grin as he took another sip of his tea, it was so comical seeing the tiny tea cup in such large and scary hands that Lucy had to hold back a giggle. The wolf gave her a knowing smile, seeming to know her thoughts he promptly extended a pinkie and as primly as possible took a long slurp of tea. Lucy couldn't hold back any more and let out a snort of laughter, Chamaeleon joined in and soon the whole group was gasping for breath. Still giggling Lucy tried to inhale deeply to calm down,

"Okay well that works out perfectly, *giggle* if you ever need more time off just let me know, okay?" Lupus nodded calming down immediately, Chamaeleon still had the occasional giggle but was able to keep pretty quiet.

"Alright Chamaeleon let's move onto you, what days won't work for you?"

"Well firstly you can actually call me Camille for short," Nodding Lucy wrote it down so she'd be sure to remember later. "and just Thursdays" smiling at Lucy the young looking spirit continued "I know this might be bad mannered of me but may I call you big sis? I know that the common title is mistress, but you seem more like a caring big sister than some mean mistress lady."

"Sure Camille! I don't really like going by mistress anyways, but just know that plain ol' Lucy works fine too." she turned to Lupus "same goes for you...well Lucy anyways...I think Big sis might be little odd coming from you." Lupus chuckled and nodded.

"Indeed it would. Thank you for the option, however I plan to stick with _Alpha_."

"Alpha? That sounds so...hierarchy-ish."

"I know of your reputation to be friends and partners with your spirits rather than look down on them, but _Alpha_ is a title that I feel covers these aspects. An Alpha protects because they care for their pack and would never want them to be hurt, but they also work with the pack to accomplish their goal. I feel that no Alpha of mine before has been more deserving of the title than you."

Lucy was shocked at the respect he showed her. These new spirits were getting more and more interesting the more she spoke to them.

"Alright...if you're sure then I won't stop you from feeling comfortable." Although he was very playful Lupus had a very serious and respectful side, almost like a soldier to a commander.

"Thank you Alpha" Lupus bowed his head formally with his fist over his heart, but reaching the bottom he looked up and winked teasingly, and for once in her life she didn't think it was meant to be flirty, just a way to let a friend know about an inside joke. Lucy laughed and continued changed the conversation.

"So, if you two don't mind my asking, what skills do you have?" A sly smile came over Camille's face.

"Perhaps we should just show you so as to decide our skill level for yourself." Lupus agreed as Camille stood and reached for her bo staff, and upon seeing Lucy's hesitant eyes she reassured her. "I promise not to hurt any items of yours big sis." Lucy looked grateful and nodded her assent. Camille moved to a fairly empty piece of floor and turned facing the others, she rose her bo staff in front of her, hands resting near its middle as she started spinning her bo staff in front of her body. She started slow, spinning the staff with a small smile on her face, she began building up speed while making her spins more complicated and confusing still gaining momentum. As Camille started bending and striking with incredible speed at invisible enemies she suddenly disappeared, along with her bo staff.

"Oh no!" Lucy gasped looking around," Did I accidentally close her gate!" She quickly grabbed Camille's key from the table to closely inspect it. Lupus chuckled and reached over pushing her hands back down.

"Don't worry, watch this." Lucy watched him with a confused expression as he stood with one of her couch pillows and aimed it like a frisbee where Camille had just been standing, tossing it Lucy watched as it was suddenly smacked down from midair with a light slapping sound.

"Ta-da" Camille said as she slowly reappeared with a ballerina like bow. Clapping Lucy ran over to her excitedly.

"Camille that was amazing!" Laughing Camille looked pleased with her praise.

"Careful with that one Alpha, she can be a bit of a prankster" Looking from his laughing face to Camille's innocent puppy eyes Lucy accepted that they would indeed be just as interesting as her other spirits, moving on Lucy faced the wolf.

"Well how about you Lupus? What can you do?" The wolf frowned slightly, looking around Lucy's apartment.

"Mine can be a bit more destructive to the indoors, how about I show you from out the window?"

"ooookaaayy...I guess so." A split second after the words left her mouth he had bounded across the room, letting her glimpse a fluffy wagging tail in the process. He burst the windows open and jumped to the street without a second's hesitation.

"Oh my goodness!" Lucy cried as she dashed over to the window and called down "Are you alright!?"

"Perfectly fine Alpha, thank you for checking."

"Don't do that again! You scared the heck out of me!" Lupus cocked his head at this and looked at her curiously.

"Yes Alpha, I apologize for worrying you."

"I-It's fine, I just didn't realize how capable you were, I mean I _do_ live on the third floor after all."

"Indeed, I shall be sure to let you know of my limitations." She could see that wolfy grin even in the middle of the night. "Now, shall I show you what I can do?"

"Oh, yeah... Uh go on with the show." Lucy called down with a wave of her hand trying to lighten the mood that she felt she'd accidentally brought down with her mother hen instinct. Lupus nodded posing himself into a fighting stance. He began by extending his clawed arms to either side of his body. Lucy watched as his hands began to glow with a light blue power, it almost acted like mist, pouring from his hands and fading away as it trickled to the ground.

"Lunar Slash!" He called as he slashed the air upwards to avoid the surrounding houses, Lucy felt the power swoosh past her window and watched as it sliced through a low hanging cloud that was covering the full moon, her mouth dropped. "Lunar Fang!" suddenly a glowing misty set of teeth snapped at the same cloud, making it disperse completely.

"And last but certainly not least," Lupus said with an actor's bow "LUNAR HOWL!" arching his back he leaned far back with his nose to the sky.

"Oh no" thought Lucy just as an ear splitting howl ripped through the quiet night, Lucy covered her ears "Lupus stop! You're going to wake up the whole city!" the sound quickly subsided and Lucy looked down to see a grinning Lupus hanging just below her gripping her window frame with his dangerous claws. "AH!" she yelped and fell backwards. Lupus chuckled as Camille caught her before she could touch the floor and climbed in the rest of the way. "Okay, I'm pretty sure _you're_ the only prankster here." she accused as she stood straightening her clothes.

"Whatever you say Alpha, however I'd hold off what you think until you get to know _her_ better." Camille pointed to her own innocent expression trying to seem shocked at what Lupus was insinuating.

"I guess we'll just wait and see," Lucy suddenly felt how tired she really was from her long day and new spirits. "well I think that's all for tonight. I'll start training with you two next week, I need to get to bed and pretend I know nothing about a howling man in the middle of the street." The spirits smirked at this but agreed that it was time to leave. "Have sweet dreams you guys." She said waving as they disappeared in another flash of light.

 **AN: Alright once again I'm ready for you to tear it apart, hit me with your best shot! :)**


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

 _4 months later..._

Lucy awoke to the sun shining through the window, blinking at the morning brightness she sat up and stretched , "looks like I fell asleep at my desk again." with one last stretch (and some baby dinosaur squeaks) she gathered her new information she'd fallen asleep gathering and writing, walking over to her wall she added the notes to where Wendy's picture was posted. She stepped back with a resigned sigh and looked at her handy work, tears hardly threatened her anymore as over the months she'd learned to turn off her emotions a little more each day. She still smiled and loved people but she could always tell that the emotions were fleeting, within minutes of someone turning their back she would be back in her solemn mood knowing she still had so far to go. Jason could see this and was always trying to cheer her up. "He really is a good friend," she thought as she did her morning stretches and yoga "I wish I could be a better one to him.."

That day at work Lucy helped Jason with another article on the top eligible bachelors in the wizarding guilds, scheduled more modeling shoots, hired photographers for the next photo shoot and wrote letters to the winners of their last contest. It had been a children's contest on who could make the biggest difference in their local community, the entries had been adorable with their crayon-written letters and pictures of their cute faces as they showed proof of what they'd done. It had been Lucy's idea in order to cater to a larger group of buyers instead of just girls in their teens (like her), their focus had been the parents and the kids, and it totally worked! The editors had loved the idea and left it in her hands, but with the competition finally over Lucy could start concentrating on training and research again. As she finished up the last of the letters later that evening Jason walked over smiling and writing notes on a notepad,

"Hey Lucy, are you finished with the prizes?"

"Yup I just finished actually, they're ready for the mailman tomorrow." Sighing she leaned back into a more relaxed position, "Did you need my help with anything else today?"

Jason could see how tired she was, heck anyone could the evidence was practically written all over her with the bags under her eyes and her sagging shoulders.

"No, I think we're good for the day, why don't you head home?" Lucy nodded closing her eyes and leaning her head back but didn't move yet. "How about you take tomorrow off too, as a little reward for handling the competition so well."

Perking up at this Lucy nodded eagerly, "Gee Thanks! I could use a break!"

"Cool! Now get outta here!"

With a salute and "Aye sir!" Lucy started gathering her things with a small smile. As she headed out the door Lucy sent Jason a backward wave "Thanks Jason! See ya later!"

Once home Lucy collapsed on the couch, she let her mind go blank while she tried to relax. Her eyes getting heavy she started nodding off and jerking back awake, on and off and on and off. Suddenly Loke appeared before her face, very much in her personal space!

"GAH!" She tried to shove herself farther into the couch but to no avail, her heart was racing "Loke! What do you want?" she tried not to sound whiny...it didn't work.

"Lucy, we need to talk."

"How does that justify you scaring the heck out of me?!" Loke continued talking as if she hadn't just yelled in his face.

"You promised us you wouldn't push yourself too hard, but you're looking close to death's door lately."

"Thanks for your concern _mom,_ but don't worry, I just had a big project at work for a while, and I finished it just today." Loke eyed her with his hands on his hips trying to decide if he should let it go, smiling at his concern she stood up "Stop worrying about me I know how to take care of myself, and I have the day off tomorrow, so you know what that means?" she threw her arms up in the air adding in some jazz hands for good measure "MORE TRAINING! Yaaayy... "

"Lucyyyy" Shaking his hair (mane?) he put his hands on her shoulders trying to let her know how serious he was "Maybe you should try _actually_ taking the day off, you really need to rest" She instantly sobered and looked and looked down, her emotions close to spilling out of her eyes.

"How can you say that?...He's coming...I know he is..." Hugging herself she turned her back to him trying to hide the tears that were welling up "I have to be ready,...for you...for all our friends."

Hesitantly he replied in a quiet voice, trying his best to be reassuring "I know you think that, but he's in prison Lucy, he can't hurt anyone from there."

"He's going to get out, he thinks he's doing what's right Loke! You and I both know that when people get desperate enough they'll do anything. That's how I know it's just a matter of time." When she had control of her emotions again she faced him with a smile. "So be ready for training tomorrow, okay? Please?" He stared sadly at her before silently agreeing with a slight bow.

"I'll let the others know, but at least sleep in."

"Deal, goodnight Loke, and thanks."

"Goodnight Lucy."

She'd slept like a rock last night but against Loke's wishes she'd woken up early, she'd honestly meant to sleep in but her body was too used to waking up early so she ended up just laying there feeling useless. Instead of laying around she decided to go for an early morning hike/nature walk to find a new training space and she'd come home and have a relaxing spa evening. She stuffed her essentials for the day into a backpack including a lunch, snacks for her spirit friends, a book for down time, a water bottle, a small towel (she hated feeling sweaty), and a pocket knife. Lastly, she strapped her keys to her thigh as she headed out the door, "Sorry Loke, I couldn't sleep any longer". She passed through Crocus on almost empty streets, so she reached it's outskirts fairly quickly as she headed towards the mountain trails that lead around the lake and rivers. Once she reached a small stream she stepped off the path to follow it and see where it would take her. It eventually edged a large meadow with a lone tree in the middle that sat on a small hill. Perfect! She could do her training here without bothering anyone. She decided to just hang out with Plue for a while before she called her fighter spirits. While she played with Plue she mentally prepared. This week she was concentrating on training with Capricorn, and today she was planning on trying star dress for the first time! Capricorn had told her about the _star dress_ spell and it had made her extremely excited to try it! However, Capricorn had warned her that before she attempted it she would need a little more time for training.

 _Over a month ago..._

" _Lucy, it is time that you learned about star dress," Capricorn stated after a particularly intense hand to hand combat session with his mistress._

" _Huh?" Lucy cocked her head "What's that?"_

" _It's a type of spell that celestial Mages can use in order to share abilities with their spirits, you've actually already used it once, with the power that Aquarius left you when you fought Jackal." Capricorn slowly started pacing back and forth as he further explained himself. "Perhaps a good way to think of it is to compare it to borrowing a copy of a book from a neighbor," they still have the original book and their full ability to read it, but you temporarily have a copy of the book with your own ability to read it. Once you have finished reading the copy you return it to the neighbor. When you use star dress you can borrow a spirit's powers and skills without heeding our abilities at all, however it is especially taxing on the wizard as they are now using almost double the magic with keeping the spirit there and using star dress. You can use star dress without the spirit appearing but if you are fighting together you will obviously be a more formidable foe to your enemies. I shall help train you to increase magical abilities before you try star dress so you can use both for longer periods of time without harming or exhausting yourself."_

" _That all sounds amazing! This means I can fight beside you all more without getting in the way!" Now Lucy was the one pacing "How long will it take me to build up my magical strength like that? When can we start?..." Lucy kept rattling off questions until Capricorn quieted her with a lift of his hand._

" _All in due time Miss, we may start officially training you for the spell tomorrow, it will be a difficult and long process, please prepare yourself."_

The weeks had flown by as she'd started learning about star dress and the new abilities she'd be able to use, and now the time had finally arrived! Capricorn had been quite impressed with her learning curve telling her in their last training session that she was finally ready to try it out. As she relaxed under the tree she decided to only train with Capricorn today that way she wouldn't drain her magic as fast from training with the other spirits. She didn't even realize she was contradicting that idea while she played with Plue a little longer, but Plue required so little power that it wouldn't make a very big difference anyway. At 10:00 she decided it was time to start, so she said goodbye to Plue and replaced him with Capricorn.

"Good morning Miss Lucy" As always Capricorn's actions were as formal as his clothes. Lucy returned his greeting with a smile. They started right away with Capricorn reminding her of what she would need to do for the spell to work after he finished she nodded her head feeling nervous but excited. Lucy slapped her hands together and closed her eyes, concentrating on gathering her magic, moments later she began to glow with golden power. She let it swirl around her legs with her eyes closed, feeling ready she called "Star Dress! Capricorn form!" She felt a shiver go down her spine that left her skin tingling when it passed. Was it over? she felt...different...like she could punch boulder and it would split. Cracking one eye open she looked at the goat spirit. "Did it work?" He smiled at her gesturing his hand at her body inviting her to look for herself, she looked down nervously "Oh wow!" She was now wearing a long one-shouldered black dress with two slits that rose to the top of either leg one of which was now sporting a tattoo of Capricorn's constellation sign, as she continued examining herself she also saw a pink sash around her waist and thigh-high white boots, even her hair was styled differently! It was now in a high bun instead of its usual side ponytail, she spun around laughing. "I can't believe it!" she exclaimed, "I had no idea it would change how I looked!"

"Very well done Miss Lucy, now how about we test out your new abilities?"

"Alright! I'm ready!"

"With my powers, you will have improved strength, speed, endurance, and improved hand to hand combat. Shall we try a small spar?"

Instead of answering Lucy just put herself in a ready fighting stance, motioning him forward with her hand. He didn't hesitate, he flew at her with his fist ready. Lucy's initial instinct was to use his momentum against him and flip him onto his back, but she wanted to test her limits. When he reached her she used one hand to grab the shoulder that didn't have a fist at the end of it and her other hand she clasped Capricorns fist. He pushed them both several feet back, leaving ruts in the ground where her feet had been digging into it. He looked surprised that she would pick such a head on method, but the expression didn't last long as Lucy took his wrist with both her hands and flipped him over her head, finally pulling out of his stupor Capricorn landed on the ground with his knees bent before he could body slam the ground. He used the opportunity to sweep one foot beneath Lucy's legs to trip her but she saw (or rather felt) the movement and jumped, she turned in midair spinning her legs around with one foot landing brought the other one around with all the strength she had to kick his face, Capricorn readied himself for the pain, but it never came. Looking up at his mistress he saw that her foot had stopped inches away from his cheek. "Miss Lucy?"

"Gottcha" she smiled and suddenly pulled back her leg only to extend it again but this time she aimed for his chest, even as he flew onto his back he could tell she hadn't used her full strength, _Miss Lucy could never hurt us too badly, she'd feel horrible_. He smiled at the thought, sitting up he congratulated her on her win.

 _3 months later..._

Lucy had practiced star dress with all her spirits over the months and was now fine tuning her skills. She could now do use star dress with all her spirits and was working on some tricks with the spell, like having Gemini use star dress while she used the form of a different spirit or even fusing two or more forms together. One of her favorite combos was Horologium and Leo. Since Horologium had such high defense magic her star dress form for him was a light suit of armor that could withstand everything that he could, the armor was golden brown and had the roman numerals go in a circle on the front of her torso (resembling a clock face) it even kept her warm similar to when she would hide from the cold inside her clock spirit. When she combined this with her Leo form her armor became black with golden numerals and was complete with golden sash around her waist that held her keys. In this form she had great protection but high fighting capabilities. With her training finally getting somewhere serious Lucy decided it was time to start seriously concentrating on her research on how to stop Solomon if he succeeded in his plan.

 _Next chapter...Solomon's plan will finally come to light and how he plans to achieve it. Do you think she'll be able to beat him?_

 **Soooo...what do you** **think? Should I keep writing? Or do you think it's lame? I know things are too exciting right now but I promise I have a plan to change that...possibly soon...**


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

 **AN: Alrighty everyone, chapter 4 is here! sorry it took so long, but as promised this one is definitely more exciting than the last ones (at least _I_ think so), once again please let me know what you think, really...I can take it :)**

 _Solomon's log book-Day 36_

 _I have acquired Wrath to help me find him and make him pay. Ami... he will pay for what he did to you._

* * *

 _2 months later...(approximately month eight, if you were wondering)_

Lucy examined herself in the mirror, brushing back wavy purple locks from her face as she nodded in approval, Cancer had done a wonderful job at disguising her hair. Her thick hair now reached her hips and was a dark purple, she'd styled it into a loose braid down her back and she could hardly recognize herself, especially with the makeup she'd used to change the shape of her eyes and face. Walking back to her room she slipped on her chosen outfit for the club which consisted of a white tank crop top, an open short black vest, long black leggings complete with tall brown combat boots and of course her signature belt that held her keys. She'd figured too many people would recognize her whip so it'd be best to leave it at home, as for her keys, tonight was about testing her new skills of star dress and hand to hand combat so she wasn't planning on showing them. As a bit of an afterthought, she pulled on some fingerless gloves that would hide her guild mark. Though it was her first fight tonight she knew she would win, she wasn't giving herself another choice, she had to prove to herself that she was ready. She'd heard about the fight club while she was eavesdropping on some guards at a cafe.

 _Lucy slipped into the booth behind them and pulled out a book so she'd look uninterested, but she also (much more discreetly) pulled out a small recording lacrima and placed it in the center of her book, it was thin enough that if she closed the book it'd just look like a bookmark, but also powerful enough to listen to the officers perfectly without any interference of the other customer's conversations. Lately, she'd started following city guards on their lunch breaks, trying to find out anything about the prison that Solomon was currently sitting in. If he escaped she wanted to know as soon as possible, so far she'd only heard them complain about petty criminal acts and how they needed a vacation._

" _Anything new on that fight club?" the officer that said it had thinning black hair and mustache._

" _Not yet, technically they haven't done anything illegal yet, at least that we know of." This guard was much younger with a handsome face and dirty blonde hair. Lucy decided to remember his face for later, she could probably flirt some info from him later. "But the captain is still having us keep a close eye on them so we'll be ready if they do slip up."_

" _I'm just itching to get that boss Adum into cuffs, he's up to no good." Ruffling his black hair the guard let out a sigh while the blonde agreed with him._

" _At this point, we might as well join the fights so we can get our hands on him."_

" _Just because any mage can doesn't mean you_ should _greenie"_

" _Awww c'mon! Everyone uses masks and fake names anyways!"_

" _Listen kid, they may not be doing illegal activities under that bar, but going there is asking for trouble! Now promise me that you won't be going to Adum's bar!"_

 _The blonde folded his arms and looked away grumpily mumbling "Geez you're as bad as my dad"_

" _Well Alex, you're dad and I go way back, so he'd kill me if he found out I'd let you get into a bad situation like that" Alex shrugged still mumbling. They continued their lunch but the Lucy was no longer in the cafe, instead, she was headed to the office for a little more research._

After she'd found the bar and found out how to sign up from their barmaid, Lucy was now on her way to her first fight. Lucy walked down the dark streets remembering how most of her spirits had originally been against the idea worrying that she'd be hurt, feeling like she was being backed into a corner she was about to give up on the idea, but surprisingly it was Capricorn who took her side pointing out what a good opportunity it was for her to test her skills. Even though it was the exact same thing that Lucy had been trying to say they seemed to actually consider it when he said it. Eventually, everyone agreed and moved on to designing her fighter identity. _Adum's Bar_ was now in sight and Lucy pulled out the final touch for her costume so she'd be completely unrecognizable a simple black mask. She walked faster now, whether from being nervous or excited she didn't know. Reaching the back door of the huge bar she tapped two times and waited a second before she tapped once more. The door barely creaked open, revealing a large man frowning down at her.

"You a fighter?" she nodded and replied keeping her voice low and monotone she replied, "Yes, Violet at your service" bowing mockingly she looked up through her mask to see the man rolling his eyes. Tch, just open the door jerk, and he did, revealing the full girth of the door guard who stepped back, and with a jerk of his head directed her to the stairs that led to the fights.

* * *

 _Solomon's Log Book-Day 135_

 _Ami... I have avenged you, but it has changed nothing! The world still crawls with the same evil and injustice that first took you from me. It must be cleansed. Wrath will help me find his brethren, and with their help, I will flood the earth with blood and make it reek with the deaths of its offenders._

* * *

She could barely hear over all the cheering and yelling as she entered the basement. From the foot of the stairs, Lucy watched as two mages fought in a very large cage placed in the center of the floor with stands full of the audience on the sides. One was of average height with a lean build, his black hair reached his hard chest and his eyes were covered in a simple green mask. His opponent was only slightly taller and more built than him, this man had short cropped white hair and a full face mask that made him look like a grinning demon. As Lucy watched she noticed that the cage didn't seem to have a way out, where were the doors?

"Slap that demon grin right off his face, Borra!" So that must be the smaller one's name thought Lucy as she spotted some staff all dressed in yellow shirts with smoking skulls on the back next to the cage and started towards them, easing through the crowd full of masked men and women. The entire event was meant to be anonymous, so the masks and/or costumes were actually insisted upon everyone if you didn't come prepared they would provide you with one unless they ran out in which case you would be sent home. Lucy saw costumes of different animals and characters, including people in regular street clothes and plain masks in a rainbow of colors. As Lucy pushed through to the staff surrounding cage the crowd went wild over a palm strike from Borra... _That technique, it looks familiar..._ She continued observing as the announcer continued his own over the intercom.

"And Frae takes _another_ hit from Borra! Even though Frae his match is feeling pretty one sided tonight folks! Looks like Borra will be taking the winnings from this match tonight!" Lucy finally reached the cage staff telling them she was a fighter, although as she watched the men in the cage fight she almost backed out, she'd never fought anyone as powerful as them on her own before! Would her opponent just end up wiping the floor with her? The staff directed her to a trap door leading beneath the cage (a room beneath a basement?). Opening it up she peered inside, about 15 feet down was a dimly lit room with masked fighters and more masked staff waiting inside, someone spotted her glancing in from a corner.

"Well, lady? Are you coming down or what?" Lucy set her mouth and vaulted herself in landing in a crouch, someone closed the trapdoor behind her presumably some staff.

As Lucy straightened up everyone stared at her curiously, and she stared back, actually she couldn't look away... _What the heck are these people wearing?!..._ she had worried that she was too overdressed when she'd seen the men fighting in plain shirts and masks but these people had gone all out! While one woman wore a kimono with a full face of makeup there was also a man (she assumed anyways) in a full suit of bright red knight's armor! The costumes just became crazier as she went along so she concluded she was actually pretty dressed down. Lucy observed her surroundings, the room seemed to have no exit except for the door she'd just jumped through, there were couches to lounge on and against one wall was a lacrima that showed the fight still going on above them. She watched the lacrima for a moment trying to decipher what was so familiar about Borra when her thoughts were interrupted.

"So, who are you?" the question came from the man in the corner that had first noticed her. Lucy took her time answering, building a smug smile on her purple lips, she walked along the wall for a moment before she chose a spot to lean against it with her arms folded across her chest.

"Violet." Keep it simple Lu, you don't want these people to know too much.

"So, Violet," the man from the corner continued speaking "Are you any good?" Lucy rolled her eyes at the question, feigning her disinterest.

"How rude," tilting her head at him she continued "you expect me to answer that when you still haven't told me _your_ name?" Scoffing at him she remained silent refusing to answer his question till he answered hers.

"I suppose you're right, where ever did I let my manners go? I go by Hiroto here." With a slightly too large smile, he rose from his seat to approach her with his hand outstretched "Nice to meet you, Violet." He gripped her hand tightly with his as they shook and leaned in close, his smile dropped and his voice became a whisper. "Now...are you any good?" Lucy did her best to remain calm and not let the panic she felt surface on her face, this guy was seriously creepy! He continued staring her down while she calmed herself enough to answer without a quaver.

"That's what I'm here to find out, so I guess we're both in the dark." He looked taken back by her reply "Sorry if the info didn't help." His eyes widened while he backed off a little.

"You don't know if you're any good, and you came to a fight club to find out?" Lucy slowly looked away, trying to look bored while Hiroto burst into a laughing fit, "Whoa, you are one crazy chick!" He looked around the room announcing her statement to his small audience. "Did you all hear that? She doesn't know if she's any good and she figured _this_ was the way to find out!" As they laughed Lucy stayed silent, let them laugh, she may not be sure if she could beat them but she sure was going to try. Them underestimating her would play to her advantage.

"And what about you?" Lucy asked, "Are you any good in the cage?" Hiroto ceased laughing immediately and turned back to her, his eyes took on a serious sheen.

"One of the best in there."

"That so?" She allowed herself a small smile, "Well I look forward to it then." Hiroto nodded and strutted back to his seat while a staff member approached her to let her know what match she was set up for that night, her opponent would be someone named Veloces, Lucy looked around the room trying to match the name to a face but with no clue to their power or even their gender she was left clueless.

"Wow, ladies and gentlemen! Looks like Frae is down for the count after being struck in the chest by Borra!" The announcer's voice came from the lacrima in the room, so the fight must be coming to a close. Lucy watched as Borra was declared the winner of the round by the cage referee, after the crowd cheered loudly for the win the two opponents disappeared in a flash of light, Lucy gasped, _Where did they go?_ Barely a moment later another flash of light blinded her as Borra and Frae reappeared inside the room! So that's how they got in and out of the cage. Borra slapped an exhausted looking Frae on the back, but other than being tired it looked like all his wounds were gone, when did that happen? Lucy assumed that whoever transported them down from the cage must also have healing magic, but healing while transporting? She'd never heard of such a thing.

Borra laughed as Fra grimaced at him, "Gee man, that was one _wild_ fight!" Lucy felt the blood from her face drain, she knew that voice! That's Bacchus! She didn't want to risk anyone recognizing her and telling anyone about it, but the event was anonymous, would Bacchus keep her secret if he recognized her? She'd stay silent for now, if her approached her she'd just tell him quietly not to mention this to anyone. Bacchus may be a little nuts and a total pervert but he was actually a pretty good guy, after he'd lost to Elfman in the Grand Magic Games he'd stopped by their bar for some drinks and they'd actually had a lot of fun with him! Lucy smiled at the memory, lost in her own thoughts she didn't notice Bacchus approaching her until he was right in her face, _crap!_ Well, that didn't take very long.

"Who's the new girl? Been awhile since we had anyone new around here."

"She's going by Violet" Lucy heard someone reply.

"That right?" he slammed both hands against the wall on both sides of her, she couldn't help but squeak a little at the lighting fast movement. Bacchus grinned and let out a chuckle the entire room joining in, but they eventually went back to their own conversations leaving the new girl to fend for herself. Once their concentration was off them Bacchus's face grew somber "What're you doing here blondie?" Lucy gasped, how had he recognized her so quickly? He must've guessed her question because the next words he spoke answered it "It was the belt blondie, total giveaway. Though your squeal a second ago confirmed it too." Lucy huffed and crossed her arms. "Now answer the question, what's a girl like you doing here?"

"If you must know, I'm here to test my new skills."

"Oh, so you learned some new tricks these last few months? Well, why didn't you just test them with one of your fairy friends? Would've been a lot safer." Was Bacchus actually concerned for her?

"Didn't you hear? Fairy Tail was disbanded and we haven't exactly kept in touch. I never joined another wizard's guild so I technically can't accept jobs, this was the fastest way that I could think of to test myself."

"Doesn't change the fact that this is a very bad idea. People have died in these fights before blondie, you should drop out now while you've still got the chance to."

"Not happening." Bacchus sighed at her response.

"Had a feeling you'd say that, you're one _wild_ girl." He shook his head and lowered his hands.

"Bacchus," she whispered urgently "please don't tell anyone that I was here. I'm trying to lay low." She grabbed him by the shoulders startling him a little, "It's of the utmost importance that my name isn't popular in any way." Bacchus smirked at her.

"You can count on me blondie. Stay _wild_." He walked away to rest on a couch while the other fight had begun.

Two by two the fighters were transported out of the room and into the cage to fight, then brought back to heal and rest for the remainder of the event. Lucy sat nervously her palms sweating as she tried to figure out which of the remaining fighters was her opponent, finally her name was called.

"Tonight ladies and gentlemen we have the honor of welcoming a new fighter! Please put your hands together for Violet! No one knows what kind of magic she specializes in but we'll find out tonight as she faces off with a crowd favorite, Veloces!" A bright light appeared around her and she felt as if her whole body was being squeezed and stretched at the same time, she could hardly breathe and her head felt heavy. Time seemed to drag by as Lucy waited for the experience to end until suddenly she was looking at the crowd of cheering masks, she stumbled for a moment trying to get footing after being transported.

"As usual, it looks like another first timer has a hard time after her first transportation experience, you okay down there Violet?" Lucy shook her head trying to clear it... _come on Lu get it together..._ straightening up she nodded to the referee and looked around the cage for Veloces. Eventually, she spotted a girl waiting patiently in the corner when she caught Lucy's gaze she waggled her fingers at her with a small smile which she tentatively returned. The girl wore simple exercise shorts, a sports bra and wasn't wearing any shoes... _she's that confident in her skills?..._ They both walked to the middle of the cage to meet with the ref.

"Alright, ladies let me tell you the rules of the fight.

Even though there are enchantments of protection over them there will be no aiming at the ref or the crowd, the risk isn't worth it.

Weapons are allowed and there will be medics on standby for serious injuries.

There is no time limit on the fight, the fight ends when an opponent is defeated or if a ref calls it.

That's it unless you have any questions to which Veloces inquired about the prize for the fight.

"The prize for your fight tonight will be 500,00 J, and if the newbie wins she gets that and a celestial spirit key as is the tradition for the first timers, but that hasn't happened yet since newbies don't seem to realize how ferocious our fights are." Lucy hadn't heard about this, if she won she'd get a spirit key? But the ref _had_ said that no first timers had ever won, hopefully, she could throw them for a loop tonight. "Alright ladies, back to your corners. The fight starts at the whistle" Lucy contemplated which star dress to begin with as she walked to her corner, she'd worked on making all her star dress forms appear in black, she knew that someone was likely to notice the similarities to her spirits eventually so the change should help curb any suspicion of her identity for a little while. Reaching her corner she'd decided on who to start with, turning around she set her body in a ready stance, Veloces leaned against her corner casually waiting for the whistle to blow as well. It went off and Veloces dashed at Lucy with incredible speed, before she could realize what was happening she felt herself flying along the cage walls until she crashed against another corner. This girl means business! Lucy peeked from under her arm and saw Veloces coming straight for her again, but this time Lucy noticed that she had cat ears and cheetah claws for arms, Lucy quickly rolled to the side just as Veloces reached the corner punching the ground where she'd just been, her punch gave a resounding boom and when the dust cleared Lucy saw that her claws had turned to metal... _she uses transformation magic, but this is like nothing I've ever seen! She can even transform what her body is made of while still holding onto her animal form!..._ Well one transformation asks for another, she called Lupus from her mind and she felt herself transform as well, for everyone watching it happened in a flash of golden light but for Lucy she time slowed down as her body and clothing changed. Most of her star dress forms didn't change her physical body but since Lupus could transform between wolf and man her magic landed her somewhere in between similar to how he'd looked when they'd first met. She felt her body grow powerful and big, her hands and feet became menacing claws to match her opponents, her ears grew long and sharp along with her teeth, and her eyes became a glowing blue. Her clothing now consisted of no shoes, black torn shorts, a short silver breastplate with the phases of the moon and a torn cape that reached her hips; her fingerless gloves, mask, and her belt was all that remained of her original outfit. Veloces backed away taken back by her savage appearance. Lucy smiled and with a gravelly voice called to the other fighter.

"Here kitty kitty."

The announcer's voice came over the speakers, "Folks it looks like we have two transformation mages in the cage, I wonder who will walk away from this one?"

Veloces growled low in her throat glaring at Lucy, suddenly she was dashing on the side of wall running at her tall enemy who was waiting for the right moment. As she reached her she launched at Lucy's neck while in mid air she once again transformed her claws into metal, but just as she was about to latch on Lucy smacked her out of the air with her own claws that were glowing blue with lunar magic.

"Whoa what a hit! And what's that power she's using with her hands?" Veloces's yellow eyes burned with rage under her mask, but Lucy would not be phased. She called upon Taurus's power to add to her Lupus form, her fists felt like they could shake the ground with the power they wielded. Veloces let her body transform even more cheetah like and charged; Lucy also charged in response. Both led by their fists, Lucy with a large blue glowing claw, and Veloces with a sharp titanium claw, until they both met in the middle. BOOM! Their fists met but they quickly recovered, Veloces swiping at Lucy's middle and drawing blood while Lucy used _lunar slash_ aiming for her enemy's face. Lucy then used all her force and kicked Veloces squarely in the chest making her fly back against the wall. Veloces came back with a fury using her metallic claws to swiftly slash again and again as Lucy could only block her face trying to minimalize the damage until she could strike. Eventually Veloces tired and quickly retreated before Lucy could retaliate. Lucy backed away limping, taking a knee as she tried to catch her breath, she could feel Veloces watching her as she closed her eyes, keeping her eyes closed she concentrated on sensing rather than seeing her opponent, waiting for the right moment to attack. Eventually, she felt Veloces relax and start to saunter towards her.

"Well Violet, you definitely put up a good fight for a newbie, but as you can see I am clearly going to be the winner here, so you might as well give up now." Lucy could hear the smirk in her voice as she crouched before Lucy. "Stop ignoring me greenie," she growled in a sing-song voice, "it's a decision you'll live to regret." Lucy's glowing eyes snapped open making the cheetah woman gasp.

" _Lunar Bite!"_ Sharp and glowing jaws launched at Veloces who was frozen in shock, the jaws grabbed her torso and lifted her high into the air and started whipping her back and forth like a wolf did with it's prey until it finally slammed her down onto the floor. Lucy felt bad for being so violent but she'd felt like the fight was starting to drag on. The crowd was silent as Veloces lie bleeding on the floor unmoving... _Oh no..._ Lucy dashed to her side reverting back to her regular form as she approached her "Veloces!" still nothing, reaching her side she screamed at the ref "Get a medic in here now!". Veloces had also reverted back to her human form when she'd slammed against the floor, Lucy brushed her hair back from her face as blood pooled from beneath her head, her eyes unmoving and dull... _What have I done?..._ "Veloces?" she whispered in small voice, she didn't seem to be breathing "Please wake up, I'm sorry...I'm so sorry..". The healers finally arrived whisking Lucy away while Veloces and the healers disappeared in a flash of white light, once again Lucy was surrounded by light as she was transported back into room with the other fighters. She arrived in the room without her bruises and scratches but Lucy didn't notice she just fell to her knees staring in shock at her blood covered hands. She eventually began crying which turned into full gasping sobs; the rest of the fighters gawked at her as she started gasping for breath to enter her lungs, falling forward until her head hit the floor she clutched her chest with both hands as if she was trying to keep herself from ripping apart... _What have I done? What have I done?..._ She kept repeating the thought in her mind unable to comprehend what had just happened. She eventually felt someone rest their hand on her shoulder and speak to her in a hushed tone that she doubted anyone else could hear.

"Hey Blondie," So it was Bacchus that was trying to comfort her. "I'm sure she'll be okay, people have bounced back from worse around here."

"She's...she's dead..." Everyone in the room felt the tension rise at those words. Lucy was consumed with images of a dead Sophia lying in her own blood, her eyes blank and glassy just like Veloces's. "She wasn't moving, she wasn't even breathing!" Lucy's voice started to rise as reality pressed down on her. "And it's all because of me!" Screaming as the tears streamed down her face she clutched her head, "How could I do that to someone innocent! I thought if I ever killed someone it would be someone evil, someone attacking my friends!" Bacchus looked like he didn't know what to do, he knew he wouldn't be able to comfort her, this was too big for a simple acquaintance to handle, she needed her friends, her guild.

"Dammit!" Bacchus muttered "Where's that pink friend of yours? He should be the one helping you through this, not us strangers!". Without knowing it Bacchus just opened up an additional wound.

"THEY LEFT ME!" Crying she grasped Bacchus, "Everyone always leaves! And now Veloces is _forced_ to leave her friends and family because of ME!" taking ragged breaths she bent over again as if in physical pain. There was a soft flash of light and a gasp from the room full of fighters. Lucy felt warm arms encircle her and lift her up, they placed her still sobbing head on their shoulder and the grip around her tightened as they slowly crooned and comforted her, rocking her back and forth until she was finally calm enough to look at who was holding her. "Loke...what have I done?..."

"Shhhh Luce...it wasn't your fault, these things just happen sometimes." she threw herself back onto his shoulder, falling into a new fit of tears, Loke just rubbed her back knowing that she was past words of comfort now. A flash of white and two medics appeared.

"Violet," said one "Veloces is asking for you, please hurry and I'll take you to her." Lucy and Loke both gasped, she sprung to her feet rushing towards the medic as Loke disappeared. Lucy felt the same sensation of being squeezed and stretched before she appeared beside a bed in a white room with doctors and nurses.

Lying in the bed was Veloces in a neck brace and bandages, she looked over when Lucy appeared,

"Violet..." she rasped reaching out her hand to Lucy. Lucy clasped her hand gently with both of her own.

"I'm here! Oh, Veloces I'm so sorry, I thought you were dead! I never meant to harm you so badly!..."She continued blubbering until Veloces interrupted her.

"I am going to die, Violet," Lucy's heart clenched as she tried to hold back her tears, "but I wanted you to know it wasn't your fault," Veloces started to chuckle which turned into painful coughs, once it passed she continued, "you see...I wasn't supposed to be fighting anymore, my doctors told me it would be my death if I continued...but I couldn' stop, it's the only thing that brought me any satisfaction anymore, how could I possibly give that up? The adrenaline, the cheering crowd, the sore muscles after knowing that you tried your hardest. Violet, brittle bones run in the family, my neck is broken and my body is almost completely crushed, the only reason I can speak to you right now is because of these doctors and healers supporting me with their magic, but they can't do that forever." Lucy started sobbing and apologizing all over again until Veloces hushed her with a squeeze of her hand. "Please, I knew what i was headed for, I don't want you to blame yourself, you don't deserve that you seem like a very nice person, even while you tried to act tough in fighters lounge I could tell it was all a show, don't worry...we all do it in there, it's all part of the being in the club...*gasp of pain*...Please, Violet, let me know your real name, I'll tell you mine even if you don't tell me yours." Lucy nodded, how could she not tell her? With a shuddering breath, she replied.

"I-It's Lucy, Lucy Heartfilia."

"Nice to meet you, Lucy, I'm Marceline Kelli. I can tell you're getting ready for something, that's why you came to test yourself here, and I don't know what it is that working so hard for, but I know it's going to save a lot of people, so please don't let this slow you down...in fact let it push you even harder...keep the people you want to protect in your mind, keep them there always." Lucy nodded surprised how observant this girl was, was it obvious to everyone what she was trying to do? "Lucy?" They locked eyes again "Please don't go to my funeral, my family...they won't understand...it would just hurt them...feel free to visit me afterward though...my favorite flowers are white lilies...I'll be waiting for your visit." She looked to the ceiling as if waiting for something, and with the faintest of smiles on her lips, she relaxed and closed her eyes breathing in and out through her nose as if the air in the room was as fresh as after a rainstorm, until finally...she stopped.

 _Solomon's Log Book Day-302_

 _Ami, my crusade is on it's verge. With the Seven I will wipe this world clean for you, all I need is that girl's power. She has no idea what she holds though it is the key to our success or our demise._

Lucy had tried to refuse the prize from the club officials until they'd told her that Veloces had told them to insist that she take it, "She said to tell you to not be stupid, and to remind you that you're probably going to need it later. Do you know what that means?"

"Yes," Lucy replied, "Don't I need to speak to the police or something?"

"Actually, your identity is still protected because of all the paperwork that's signed by all of our fighters, so we are only required to tell them your costume name, and since we actually don't know your real name they won't be able to find you unless you tell them. It's a way for us to get around having some slightly...rowdy fighters who may or may not have a past with the city officials." _Well, that feels really messed up..._ "If you're worried about the family I don't think you should be, they've always been very understanding of their daughter's condition and only let her do this since it was what she wanted to do with the time she had left...they knew that this would happen one day, so they told me to let her opponent know that it wasn't your fault and that it was bound to happen eventually, actually the entire audience and all the fighters knew about her condition, but knowing it's what she wanted we continued to cheer her on, trying to make her time feel worthwhile before the inevitable happened...rather unfortunate it happened to a greenie...I'm sorry we didn't tell you but we didn't think you'd be a good fighter since you were so new, Veloces actually volunteered to be your first opponent...I'm sorry this happened to you, Violet." _Everyone's being so understanding...I don't deserve this..._

After accepting her prize she started to walk home, as she walked Virgo and Loke appeared beside her, Loke threw his arm over her shoulder while Virgo walked silently beside her. "Poor princess," she thought, "she's always been so kind and caring, only fighting to protect her friends, I'm sure this is devastating to her." Virgo eventually worked up the courage to hold Lucy's hand trying to send comfort through the connection. Lucy squeezed her hand tightly as they walked towards home, they remained quiet while their mistress silently cried the entire way.

 **AN: I'm hoping to release more this week since I'm brimming with ideas but I'll be pretty busy so we'll have to wait and see :)**


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

 **AN: I'm sooooo sorry for taking so long you guys! I was trying to reformat my writing so it'd be easier to read, and I probably re-wrote this chapter 3 or 4 times. anyways let me know what you think, as you all know I am open to suggestions! Have a great read!**

After what happened during her fight, the celestial mage had weeks full of sleepless nights and before she knew it an entire month had gone by. Her head brimming with memories always replaying on the stage of her mind until her mind eventually exhausted the images and started inventing new ones. Now added to her subconscious collection were graphic scenes of her guildmates and friends, more than once Lucy found herself snapping out of bed after a particularly convincing one, the majority of Natsu. She had seen him throw his body into danger so often that her poor brain had a plethora of material to work with, and now her dreams wove together tapestries of Natsu getting hurt.

Lucy had actually been dealt with nightmares of Natsu being harmed before, but these new terrors were occurring almost nightly and her own position in the dreams had taken a drastic twist, now instead of just Solomon, Zeref, or other enemies standing over his body she found herself added to the mix killing him in various ways. It was odd, Natsu was still protecting her in those dreams, but the enemy he staved off was another version of herself, he always fought to his last breath until inevitably the variant Lucy would serve the defeating blow after which she'd look up slowly from her conquest directly into Lucy's eyes, giving her a sharp-toothed smile with blood oozing from behind her fangs and down her chin. Those were the nights she would give up sleep and review the board of her friend's movements across Fiore, rather than face her nightmares again she allowed herself to be comforted with the knowledge that nobody had been reported hurt yet.

She hadn't been able to bring herself to even touch her new key, Phoenix. She knew that she was already going against Marceline's wishes by doing so, but she couldn't help but feel large tremors of anxiety when she thought about how she'd acquired the key, flashes of memories old and new would appear behind her eyes as she squeezed them shut, as if the tighter she closed them the less she would see. Lucy could see her coworkers' concern for her as she seemed to waste away, but how could she allow herself to eat or sleep when she'd taken those same things away from someone else? She cherished her few moments of forgetfulness that came to her with the first few seconds of waking from uneasy rest, when her mind was rising sluggishly, but it never lasted long as it would crush her with a fresh wave of guilt from what she'd done, and for daring to forget it. She reassured her coworkers that she was fine countless times, brushing off their concern with excuses that she was just tired from writing the night before. She was pretty sure they didn't believe her but it at least got them to stop badgering her for the day. After waking from yet another nightmare Lucy decided she was done, she asked Jason later that day for Saturday off, and he complied happily saying that she looked like she could use a real break. Thanking him she started to prepare for her solution to easing her mind and body.

Early Saturday morning found Lucy already awake and ready for the day, gathering her bag and purchases from the week. Before she stepped out the door she looped her belt holding her keys and whip around her hips, and lastly she reached for Phoenix's key that had rested on her desk ever since the night her constant terrors had begun.

Lucy knelt before her chosen destination, setting her flowers in a built-in vase that would never be toppled from the wind, adding water to keep them alive as long as possible. She sighed letting her shoulders slump as her eyes started to water once again, these days it felt like her eyes would never stop being red. Shakily she rose Phoenix before her.

"I open thee, gate of the Phoenix! Come forth, Phoenix!"

A warm flash of golden light enveloped the mage's vision but quickly faded with a hiss and crackle. Standing before her new mistress was a beautiful woman, with thick red hair that reached her mid-thigh even while in a high ponytail and eyes that seemed to match the blue of a cool flame. Her smile seemed to practically glow as she bowed, her dress almost sweeping the ground in the process. Her bright red dress had slits up the side to allow movement, exposing her black stockings beneath. In each hand the spirit held a black iron tessin fan decorated with bright flaming flowers painted in various shades of red, orange, yellow, blue, and purple. She'd appeared in a swirl of flame and looked like a war goddess, elegant yet dangerous.

"Hello young mistress" Phoenix straightened, flames still licking her calves "May I assist you today?" The blonde welcomed the new spirit inviting Phoenix to join her on the ground and pulled out some cookies from her purse to offer to the beautiful woman.

"It's time to form a contract, I'm sorry for taking so long to meet you," Phoenix smiled warmly while she munched on a cookie, replying before she'd completely finished the treat.

"It's no problem at all mistress," she swallowed the rest before continuing, "though I must say, this is an odd place to finally meet." Lucy sat up and adjusted the flowers into a more attractive arrangement next to Marceline's grand gravestone before turning back to the burning celestial being.

"Were you aware that your key was a prize for winning a skirmish in a wizard's fight club?" Phoenix nodded slowly, recalling how long she had been there waiting for a new master or mistress to find her there. Lucy waited a moment before she pressed on.

"Well the night I won you I was put up to fight Veloces, I hadn't _really_ fought anyone with my new spells, so I went there to test my skills, and Veloces paid the price...I-I killed her...accidentally..but still..." Lucy shook her head to clear her thoughts "ever since I haven't been able to look at your key without thinking of her. I didn't know her for more than an hour but her face will forever be in my memory. However, it's time to move on, there are people depending on me, most will never even know it... I can't let them down."

She gestured to the headstone, " This is her grave, I came here for closure before I moved onto other things..." The blonde took many steadying breaths before progressing her explanation, "I figured what better place to start a new beginning than at the end of the previous chapter? This is my first time visiting her and I think it will help me to move on... Her real name was Marceline, she used transformation magic and her favorite flowers were white lilies. That's all I know about her, and I wish I knew more..." A shadow covered Lucy's brow until she forced herself to offer up a small smile to Phoenix. "But life goes on, and so will I, the question is, Phoenix, will you make a contract with me?"

The spirit looked thoughtfully at her then at Marceline's grave before nodding to herself, making her final decision.

"Of course mistress," Phoenix gave a small bow with her head before pressing on, "but may I ask who's depending on you? If the threat is large then shouldn't other mages be involved as well?" Lucy gave the spirit a small smile before answering.

"I need to protect my friends, and anyone else who may try to get in his way." After receiving an inquiring look from the other woman she elaborated, "His name is Solomon Tenebris, and he plans to gather an army of dark and immense power. His plans were almost complete before he was arrested for murder, and I'm sure that he plans to break out and finish it, that is the nature of someone who believes they are doing what's right." Lucy plucked at the grass thinking her words over carefully, she knew Solomon's plan included the 7 sins and why he felt it was his responsibility to "cleanse" the world. She had done plenty of research on the 7 sins with Crux and knew that each person was influenced by them differently, each time a different sin would have a larger hold on their host. The one with the most impact on Solomon was Wrath. Lucy and Crux had concluded this was because of his burning desire to avenge his fiance Ami's death. Ami's ex-boyfriend had been so livid (not to mention insane) with Ami's breakup that he'd actually sent a mercenary to kill her.

In retribution Solomon had searched the darkest parts of the world to find the mark of Wrath to aid in his revenge. Once found Wrath helped him end the lives of those responsible for his fiance's death, but the sin hadn't stopped there, no, he'd also poisoned Solomon's mind against the world. When Lucy had first read the log book that contained Solomon's plans she'd been able to see his ideas get darker, the writing became messier and more frantic as he followed more and more of Wrath's instructions. He seemed to have twisted his own conscious into believing that he was meant to cleanse the world of sin, and the only way to do it was to plunge the world into an age of perdition, only then would the world be free to start over and eventually be _cleansed_. The celestial mage did her best to explain, going into detail of what she had read and researched, the spirit nodding as she spoke.

"This man..." Phoenix started as her new mistress finished, "he seems disturbed," Lucy nodded in agreement, "but why is he after you?"

"Solomon believes that _I_ am the key to his army of _justice,_ as _he_ calls it, but also the key to it's demise." she was still trying to figure out the details for herself, but she shared what she thought the spirit should know, "For centuries my family has been blessed and cursed with the soul of the key bearer, though I was able to open and close the eclipse gate with Yukino's assistance we have the power to open _any_ gates to other worlds, even other dimensions, both light and dark. Solomon plans to rip the very soul from my body in order to have it's power, and use it to open _Inferno_ , a dark demon world ruled by the seven sins." The spirit seemed shocked at the news.

"But he also believes you can stop him?"

"Yes, I can, very similar situations have happened to my ancestors time and time again because we are the key-bearer, and generations to come will experience it too." Lucy paused, deciding her next words delicately.

"Solomon now bears the marks of all the seven sins, he only needs me to get what he wants, but I can, and will, stop him. I just need to train hard enough, otherwise many worlds could pay the consequences." They sat in silence, contemplating the seriousness of the situation.

"I shudder to think of the burden you bear mistress, and though you chose not to share _how_ you plan to defeat him.." Lucy looked away from Phoenix's pointed gaze, she'd hoped the spirit hadn't noticed her omission, the mage hadn't told any of her spirits the details of _how_ she planned to face Solomon knowing they would never agree, "I will help you, let us form a contract." Lucy smiled as they formed the contract, once finished she sent Phoenix back and added her key to the others.

The months following that day Lucy fell into a routine, her nights no longer constantly haunted with images of her friend's deaths she worked to improve her writing skills at work while tracking her friends and trained with her spirits. Everything was working out, she was almost ready.

There were days when Lucy would train in her self-appointed meadow doing the dangerous magic that her ancestors had used in _their_ time to defeat the seven sins, she left her keys at home on those days...She was making slow progress, but she felt confident that she could master it. With all the training Lucy found that she was constantly covered in bruises and bandages, and trying to hide them from her work was proving difficult, until she found a rejuvenating potion Although her training was going very well and she enjoyed being a journalist (in training), Lucy was still worried about her friends, especially Yukino.

Though any celestial wizard with all twelve of the zodiac keys could open the eclipse gate, and some mages could even open portals to other dimensions for short periods of time, Lucy was the only mage who could open gates from the farthest reaches of space and time and _keep_ it open. However to open the farthest gates Lucy needed all 12 of the Zodiac keys, and she worried that Solomon would seek out the other celestial wizard to get his hands on her two of the zodiac keys. Eventually Lucy determined to send Yukino a letter explaining as much as she thought the other mage should know, she implored her to watch her back for any suspicious characters asking about the zodiac keys and to protect them diligently. She also asked that she tell no one of what Lucy had told her and instructed her to destroy the note, the less that anyone knew she felt the safer they would be.

Yukino's reply arrived a few days later saying that she would follow Lucy's advice for now, but if she found it necessary she would tell her guildmates and they would do their best to help her. Lucy supposed that was the best she could ask for.

The Grand Magic Games were approaching quickly and in response the entire office was in a stable uproar. Making lists of the different guilds that planned to join and creating profiles on each of them was very time consuming, but the chief editor found it necessary to be as prepared as possible for the start of the games. So far Lucy didn't find the lineup nearly as exciting as last year's when her own guild had joined the games and won. Of course there had also been a string of events during and after the games that been rather "exciting" as well like, meeting her future self, destroying the eclipse gate, and fighting in the dragon festival; but Lucy figured nothing could be quite as exciting if Fairy Tail wasn't involved in it, they were a very rambunctious group... Well they _had_ been anyways.

The Grand Magic Games were now only one day away and Jason had been assigned to report everything on the fights, along with Lucy's assistance! They had been allowed to leave early so they could rest up and prepare for the big event the next day. Lucy meandered towards her apartment taking her time since she didn't have any plans, as she walked she decided to call up Lupus and Plue to keep her company, she did this often with her spirit's, working on increasing her ability to keep them longer. Normally she wouldn't call Lupus too often when she was in public because of his menacing appearance, but once she'd left the middle of the capital the streets were almost empty. It seemed everyone was partying and shopping in preparation for the games the next day. When she called Lupus a huge white wolf the size of a small horse appeared beside her.

"Wolf form today then?" she asked with a smile, she knew that sometimes Lupus preferred his furry appearance to his more human form.

"Yes, Alpha" Lucy was still having a hard time getting used to the term, but Lupus had been insistent so she tried her best not to grimace at his name for her. "Anything I can do for you today?" the spirit asked as he loped beside her and Plue.

"Nope just wanted to see you today" Lupus smiled at his alpha, his long tongue hanging out of his wide mouth. As they walked towards home Lucy set Plue on the wolf's back to ride along, he seemed to enjoy it, waving to the few gawking passers that crossed their path.

"You may hop on as well Alpha, how about a run today?" Lucy looked at him thoughtfully, he'd never offered a ride to her before but she had to admit she'd been curious what it was like. She'd been training non-stop for so long, maybe it was time for a real break . Giving him a nod the spirit knelt on the ground to allow her access.

As Lucy settled in she secured Plue close to her to prevent him from falling off the giant wolf, as soon as Lupus felt she was ready, he bolted! The spirit mage would've gone flying if it hadn't been for her death like grip on his long fur, she screamed in delight at the speed! She had expected him to go as far as her apartment but it seemed the wolf had plans of his own as they passed by her home and out the city gates, leaving its guards yelling behind them. Soon they were sprinting through the forest, anyone who saw them in the late evening light immediately dropped their belongings and clung to each other in fear of the huge ghost-like vision. Lucy giggled to herself just thinking about it, she felt a little bad but at the moment she was having too much fun to care! Lupus ran faster and faster on seemingly endless energy, each bound of his legs seemed to grow wider and wider, Lucy loved the feeling of the wind whipping through her hair, but sometime during the run Plue had turned around and was currently clinging to her for dear life!

Poor Plue! Lucy tested her legs' grip on Lupus, and after deciding she wouldn't die she allowed one hand to release it's grip on the wolf's fur to instead hold Plue close to her, hoping she could comfort him enough to enjoy himself. It seemed to work, eventually Plue was smiling again as Lupus accelerated, until their wolfy steed abruptly stopped with a whimper.

Lupus paced hesitantly, he acted as if he were lost his ears twitching as he whined quietly, just as Lucy started to ask what was wrong she felt it. A dark presence was slowly surrounding them like a rolling fog, she broke into a cold sweat clenching her jaw in fear of the power closing in. It was Plue's was shaking again in her lap that brought her back to her senses, Lucy broke into action. Simultaneously she forced Plue's door closed while she summoned her Aries form.

"Alpha, what are your orders? I have never felt such darkness before." Lucy understood his concerns, she had felt a presence similar to this when she was a small girl, on the night her governess Sophia had been murdered by Solomon; sitting taller on the wolf spirit Lucy aimed both palms before her.

"Wool bomb!" Lucy wasn't sure what she was fighting yet, but she felt it would be best to get out of there before its magic closed in. Two large walls of wool appeared directly before them, leaving them a clear pathway between them. "Run! We're too exposed here!" Lupus didn't need anymore convincing, he erupted into a full sprint faster than anything they had done before, as they ran Lucy felt the presence follow. "Don't go home yet, I don't want to lead them there!" The wolf grunted in reply as Lucy changed to her Horologium armor and Sagittarius star dress fusion, flipping around she straddled Lupus backwards to prevent falling. Readying an arrow Lucy waited for the enemy to show it's face, she could still feel it following. A billowing smoke like figure appeared through the trees, Lucy's arrow flew in his direction and exploded, blowing dust and bits of greenery in every direction. The figure appeared again, closer this time, seeming to blur into existence. Lucy's heart dropped, "Faster Lupus!" she called to the wolf as she released another arrow, this one split into several as they flew, exploding around the figure attempting to block it's path. It just appeared even closer, Lucy knew they'd never outrun the figure, she had to think of a way to get away from it! Lucy flipped back around to cling to the wolf's neck, releasing her star dress fusion to save her magic while she thought. After observing Lupus's gait closely she knew what to do, whispering into the wolf's ear she shared her plan asking if he thought it could work, he nodded too out of breath to give a real answer.

With an abrupt turn, that almost unseated his Alpha, the wolf changed direction and increased his already incredible speed, with a new purpose and direction his movements became more decisive, his leaps became longer as he bounded through the trees. Lucy looked back seeing the black figure blur closer and closer, she had no idea if this would work but it was the only plan she had right now. She could feel them get closer to their destination as Lupus muscles seemed to tighten and clench. She clung tighter to her friend as they suddenly broke through the trees and flew through the air. Looking below as they seemed to fly in slow motion, Lucy saw a wide crack in the earth with raging white water far below them. As she watched she saw a large tree trunk become mere splinters as it crashed into a sharp protruding boulder. The crevice was far too wide for any normal person to leap across, and Lucy could only hope the smoky figure's jumping skills fell under the same category. She could feel her heart trying to beat out of her chest as they approached the far cliff.

They crashed through the trees on the other side, and Lucy was tossed from his back as they rolled through the underbrush and dirt in a result of the sudden impact. As she skidded to a stop she looked over the crevice, looking for the figure. She saw it standing quietly on the other side, it blurred out of existence again and reappeared mere feet from her crash site. Lucy heard a growl and turned to see Lupus in his semi-human form standing protectively behind her along with Loke. The lion spirit casually walked between Lucy and the smoky figure.

"Loke! When did you get here?"

"Just now, I felt that you were in serious danger, and I'm sorry to know I was right." Loke pushed his glasses back up the bridge of his nose as he looked back at Lucy. "So, I'm doubting this is Solomon, right?" Lucy nodded her affirmation.

"It's not him, though he emanates a similar power." Lucy's mind raced to think of _who_ this stranger could be, and gasped. "No...could he?...I can't believe I never thought of it before!.." The blonde punched the ground in aggravation.

"What is it, Lucy?" She could feel Loke's gaze upon her as her mind spun with her stupid epiphany, "Do you know who it is?! Care to share with the group?" She looked up at the stranger who was still waiting patiently as if he had nowhere important to be that evening.

"I think he's a follower!" Loke's eyes snapped back to the enemy as Lucy grasped her head in frustration. "I can't believe I never thought he'd have followers! Of _course,_ there had to be other people who shared the same ideas as that monster!" Lucy stood shakily on her feet, using a nearby tree for support, waving off Lupus's assistance. She had to think of something fast! Her dangerous magic wasn't meant to be used on an underling, no it was meant for Solomon, she'd have to see if anything else could hit the dark figure. Calling up her phoenix form Lucy stood in between her two spirits, the trio faced the enemy and readied for battle. "I'm not sure what you plan to accomplish today," as she spoke to the figure Lucy let flames start to lick at the fans she now held "but we're not letting you get away with it."

Lucy was already feeling the exhaustion of keeping her spirits out for such a long period of time, though she later realized that 1 year ago she'd never had the magical stamina to keep her spirits with her _nearly_ this long, she had truly come a very long way, but it didn't change the fact that today she may run out before the fight was over. Lucy and the spirits readied themselves, Loke 's hands began to glow with golden light, Lucy's fans began to burn with an angry fire, and Lupus let out a howl as his own hands began to light up with a blue misty power.

Suddenly a pulse seemed to wave through the air, resonating through her entire body. The dark figure finally revealed one facial detail...a grotesquely wide smile in an otherwise featureless face. The pulse's continued, the first making her heart clench in fear, the second made her legs feel like jelly, and she collapsed to her knees as her spirits did the same. Each pulse seemed to bring a new wave of fear and made her body feel heavier and heavier. As Lucy supported herself on her hands and knees she came to a decision, she had to get her spirits out of there, but she could barely lift a finger. As she crouched on the ground Lucy dug her fingers into the forest floor , as if to gather strength from the earth. She was scared...so scared to be left alone, but they couldn't help her in this state and keeping them there was only draining her magic faster. They'd only get hurt. "Close, gate of the Lion! Close, gate of the wolf!"

Her spirits gasped in surprise as they began to disappear. "LUCY!" she could hear the worry in their voices but chose to ignore them. After their light faded away Lucy whispered a goodbye under her breath. She felt the figure grow closer to her, she knew she could be it, she just had to get off the ground. The spirit mage attempted to lift her body from the ground, nothing.

"You are doing quite well _key bearer_ ," Lucy froze... _that voice..._ her heart hammered her chest, trying to escape her growing fear... _it feels like someone just scratched their nails down a chalkboard..._ "Most would have collapsed long ago, yet you still crouch in defiance of my magic. No matter, you will fall soon enough." The voice was surprisingly feminine, but Lucy ignored it, instead concentrating on lifting just one finger. She glared at the offending pinky, willing it to just twitch as the smoke woman grew closer. "You might as well give up, the time has come for you to help us." The figure knelt before her and forced Lucy's chin up to look into her empty face. "You have no chance of beating me child, but I'm sure you know that. Though no one has put up such a fight in centuries, stop it before you hurt my..." the smoke woman paused and leaned in close to Lucy's face, bringing her voice to a whisper. " _Pride."_

Lucy felt her blood run cold, she was facing one of the _seven?_

 **AN: Alright! you made it! I'm going to try knocking out this next chapter really quickly to make it up to you awesome readers!...though I can make no guarantees... Anyways thanks for reading my story, it really means a lot to me! Catch you later!**


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Is she really one of the seven? Lucy felt the blood from her face sink away, she had no choice then, she'd have to use it. Pride let her chin go with a smirk and backed away tin favor of leaning against a tree, settling in to watch the blonde struggle under the seven's power like she was watching a street show. Pride's form was very confusing, when Lucy had shot at her the arrows had passed right through her and yet she'd had enough physical form to hold up her chin?

Lucy chose to ignore the sin and her own questions, for now, instead refocusing her attention to moving her pinky and keeping her elbows locked to avoid crumpling to the ground. She closed her eyes and imagined the finger moving, trying her best to reenact in her mind what it felt like to move the appendage; imagining each muscle working to achieve this one goal to just move!

"Give up key bearer" pride spoke in a sing-song voice "you'll never make it out of here." with sweat dripping down her arms Lucy clenched her teeth.

No! I will not fail my friends this time! I have to protect them! She was trembling now, from both fear and the unseen pressure that was determined to flatten her. If I give up now I'll never see my friends again! Come on Lucy, even if Fairy Tail is gone that's no reason to not fight like a fairy! Fight for your friends! Fight for everyone!

*Twitch*

Lucy's eyes snapped open with a gasp, releasing the breath she'd unknowingly been holding. Had she actually done it? This time, Lucy kept her eyes open wide as she once again concentrated on moving her pinky.

*twitch twitch*

"How are you moving?!" Pride once again stood over her, her voice sounded panicked. This was it, it was going to be now or never, Lucy pushed with all her might against the invisible force, clenching her teeth, she felt another pulse of power as pride tried to push her down again, her arms buckled once before she could lock her elbows again.

"You shouldn't be able to move! Just stay down!" Pride was starting to sound desperate but she didn't lay a finger on Lucy,...was she unable to? Lucy ignored her cries and pushed again another pulse, but this time, she didn't falter, she pushed harder and she was able to sit up,though one side of her body was still leaning against the ground. "STOP IT!" Pride swiped at her face, but her smoky hand passed through. It seemed Pride had to concentrate very hard to hold any sort of physical form, and in her unhinged state she couldn't succeed.

Lucy was exhausted, if she was going to stand, this would be the time; she didn't have the energy for any further attempt. Gathering her strength Lucy screamed as she put one foot on the ground, the other still kneeling, there's one, she kept pushing until she succeeded in making a solid flat stance with each foot. She was now in a crouch with her fists digging into the ground alongside her feet, Pride was currently swiping and screaming all around the spirit mage trying her best to put the blonde down.

This was it, Lucy could feel the strength she needed to stand but before she rose she let her new power gather around her, she'd only use one for a small attack, as powerful as Pride was she was only one of the seven. Lucy hadn't been ready to reveal her powers yet, trying to let Solomon think he had the upper hand had been a large part of her plan. This would ruin the element of surprise she'd been preparing to utilize, but circumstances had changed and she wouldn't make it out of here without using the virtues, thinking quickly she came up with the idea of something she'd never tried before. To combat Pride Lucy would need to use the virtue Humility, all her ancestors had used the virtues to defeat the sins by letting themselves become "possessed" with the virtues; but what if she could do a star dress fusion with the virtue and a spirit? Maybe she could disguise Humility enough so Pride wouldn't recognize what had hit her...it was worth a shot. She'd never tried a star dress fusion between the virtues and her spirits, this might be a little tricky. The virtues weren't the only things that could harm a sin, but it was the only way to fully defeat them until their next battle in 100 years.

Lucy began to glow with a white power as she straightened up, calling Humility to the surface of her mind. The virtue's hidden tattoo began to shine brilliantly, but before Pride could see it Lucy called forward her Phoenix star dress, her normally bright red and orange Phoenix robes were now white with fiery fringes and her eyes shone white. She could feel the spirit and virtue fighting inside her, each trying to purge the other foreign power. She wouldn't be able to keep them together much longer, time to get this over with. Pride was still swiping at her face, but without the proper concentration and her power no longer holding Lucy down she was defenseless before the glowing blonde.

Lucy stepped forward whispering in an odd language with a voice that didn't fully belong to her, Pride took a step back, the sin knew this power yet she had never seen it used like this. Was it really the same? Every step the spirit mage took towards the sin the louder her incantations became.

"NO! There's no way you found them, I've never seen them look like this!" Pride's creepy voice screeched at Lucy's advance. "There's no way...NO WAY!" Pride growled as she faced the blonde, giving a few last desperate blows that still passed right through her opponent.

Lucy lunged for Pride's neck, and actually made contact! Pride screamed at the touch of Lucy's white fire, burning her even without a fully physical form. Banging Pride's back into a tree the mage leaned in close.

"Tell Solomon that if he wants me, then he'll have to come and get me himself!" and with that Lucy burned Pride intensely one last time, the agonizing screams almost made Lucy stop but remembering the plans they had for her world made her keep hold until she felt that Pride had been burned enough to make her think twice about attacking her, the smoky form's previous dark presence having been reduced to almost nothing, Lucy repeated her message before throwing Pride into the raging river below without further ceremony.

The last sun rays were disappearing behind the mountains when the small battle was finally over, Lucy let the spirit and virtue sink out of her and her clothing reverted back to what she'd worn to work that day. She needed to find a way back across the crevice, but she felt ready to collapse from just the thought of walking, let alone the thought of actively searching for an alternate path across. She instead opted to rest against a tree until she had more strength, her eyes fluttered closed for what felt like only moments but when she opened them again the moon was high in the sky and the air was chilly. How was she so tired after such a short fight? Looks like she had more training to do.

Lucy felt much better now, calling back her Phoenix form she let the new fire warm her before she spread fiery wings and soared upward. Grateful that she'd remembered her new power of flight so she wouldn't attempt the trek home Lucy flew straight home. She landed outside her buildings door with the grace of a newborn deer, her power of flight was still very new and very exhausting and tonight she had pushed her limits by flying farther than she ever had before.

She climbed the stairs to her floor, pushed open apartment door, and made a beeline for her bed. Collapsing onto her soft mattress Lucy checked the clock on her wall, was it really only 9:32? Lucy thought it'd be closer to 11:00 since it felt so late. That was her last thought as she drifted to sleep.

Over the next few days, Lucy and Jason went to the grand magic games and watched the competitors spar and compete in events, all the while Lucy kept her eyes open for any further activity from the sins. She'd learned that Solomon hadn't been released or escaped from prison by doing a little eavesdropping at the castle, no gossip about new escapees had convinced her of this. She knew it was only a matter of time before the sins attacked again, but now she knew, so she'd be ready.

Waking up the morning after her battle Lucy had realized how many new injuries her body was now sporting, when she'd first started her training her co-workers had been concerned about the new wounds she'd continually showed up to work with so she'd quickly found a potion that healed and rejuvenated her as well as Wendy could (sometimes even more). She'd made a quick bath with the potion and soaked away her injuries and worries. If Jason had noticed how tired she still was he hadn't mentioned it.

Now they prepped for the last day of the Grand Magic Games.

 **A/N: So a pretty short chapter this week, but I figured after such long chapters it might be best to balance it out with a shorter one (actually my friend gave me that advice) I hope you're enjoying the story! Next week will start to show some serious spoilers from the manga so either avoid it (I hope you don't :/...), or just ask me about it and I'll be happy to explain and if you're interested I'll direct you to the correct chapters and sources that Hiro has published. Anyways have a great weekend everybody! Let me know what you think!**


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

 **A/N: Alrighty here's the chapter I promised! You may notice that it ends on a tiny bit of a cliff hanger but I didn't want the chapter to be too long, so I am promising you right here and now that I'll post again August 6th (2 days!) that way you won't be left hanging for too long :)... Once again let me know what you think, I love hearing from you guys, it's very encouraging!**

Today was the last day of the games, Lucy had arrived a little late due to some trouble at the gate but she'd made it before the battle so Jason didn't bother chiding her. It was now time for Dullahan Head's battle against Scarmiglione for the winning title. Lucy had been observing the teams and already knew who was going to win, the games had become pretty predictable. Instead of paying attention to the pre-battle uproar Lucy thought back to when she had run into Jellal a few months ago...

" _The information I got about Erza was really good tonight, I haven't heard anything about her for months!" Lucy was too busy caught up in her thoughts about the new information she'd gathered on her friend that night to pay attention to where she was going, causing her to run smack into a tall stranger as she was exiting the pub, "Oh! Excuse me! I should really wa...Jellal?" She barely recognized him in the heavy cloak he was wearing that covered the majority of his face._

" _Lucy, it's good to see you." How ironic to run into him just after interviewing a witness about Erza's whereabouts, Lucy smiled sweetly at the tall man that her friend loved but wouldn't admit it._

" _You too, but what brings you to the city?" Could he have possibly heard about the same witness she had and was sneaking around just to find out about Erza? Lucy's smile turned mischievous. "You didn't happen to hear about the same vicious red haired mage that I did and come to find out more, did you?" The flush in Jellal's cheeks was all the answer she needed,_

" _Here, I already got all the information out of the witness before he drank himself unconscious. Take a look." Lucy handed Jellal her notes about Erza and her whereabouts before he had a chance to make a peep of denial. They walked to a nearby bench to sit down while Jellal sheepishly read Lucy's notes in the street lamp's light. How odd...even though Jellal and Erza were two of the most powerful wizards she knew when it came to their feelings about each other they seemed to have a child-like naivety._

" _Thank you, Lucy." Jellal said handing back the notebook once he'd read his fill, he'd seen notes and bookmarks hanging out of the pages of her notebook and while she hadn't been looking he'd flipped through a few pages to satisfy his curiosity. It was an entire notebook full of information on her guildmates and other friends that she cared for! Jellal had been shocked to find a section on himself, none of the information she'd gathered on him had been set in stone, only rumors of his independent guild's work that she'd guessed they'd been responsible for, and most of it was correct! He was touched to know that she cared about him and his well-being._

" _Can I help you with anything in return for helping my mind rest about Erza?" Lucy cocked her head and thought for a moment...oh...OH! She whipped her face towards him fixing him with a determined glare._

" _Tell me about your prison time."_

" _An odd request...may I ask why?"_

" _You were kept in the highest security prison and escaped, I have a very powerful enemy behind bars in the same prison. I think it's possible he escaped already but I haven't been alerted about it." She couldn't tell him everything but she'd need to give a little if she wanted to get any information out of him. "I don't think they'd want to admit that they lost such a powerful prisoner. I don't have any real reason to believe he's out but learning about his prison could help."_

" _Wouldn't the public be notified right away if someone so dangerous was among them?" Jellal asked with a questioning look in his eye, she could tell he wanted to ask her more but was trying to keep from prying._

 _Lucy raised an eyebrow and pointed an accusing finger at him, "They probably don't want to cause panic, plus no one knew that_ _ **you'd**_ _escaped."_

 _Jellal nodded thoughtfully, "True...what exactly would you like to know?" Lucy asked him questions about the other prisoners, she didn't think he'd know who Solomon was since they'd both been in solitary confinement but she was still curious. She asked about the prison's set up, the guard's shifts and their methods of enforcement, and the specifics of how he'd escaped. Jellal answered everything in detail with a calm voice, but the celestial wizard could tell that he was feeling antsy from being in public for so long, so as soon as she wrote her last note in her book she thanked him._

 _Jellal finally gave into his "Do you plan to break in?"_

" _Perhaps...but not until my hand is forced to investigate." If he_ _ **is**_ _still in prison there's no reason to let him know where I am, no...it'd be best to avoid that for as long as possible..._

" _Be careful if you choose to"_

Eventually, Jason called her name enough to pull her from her flash back. They discussed the battle and lucy explained her theories to her boss who looked amazed at her insight. The battle began and as it progressed Jason grew more and more excited as Lucy's intuition was proven correct. However just as Scarmiglione was celebrating their victory a shadowy figure emerged from the entrance tunnel, and an intense heat took over the entire arena! "This level of magic power...Get everyone out of here!" Lucy immediately thought of gathering every able-bodied wizard to fight against the intruder when suddenly everyone's clothes started melting off!

"Long time no see, Lucy!"

"Happy?" then that must mean the intruder is...

"Yo it's been awhile, hasn't it Lucy?"

 _Natsu..._

* * *

They were back! After waiting for any news on her best friends for an entire year they appeared right before her eyes! Figures...As she watched her friends get taken away by the guards Natsu called out to her. "Hey Lucy lets meet up after the king lets us go, okay?" Lucy smiled as she covered her still bare chest and nodded. Lucy headed home quickly to change without feeling too embarrassed about her nearly naked state since most everyone else was in the same situation. As soon as she reached home she quickly changed and immediately left, running towards the castle, to her friends.

Upon her arrival, Lucy explained the situation to the guards who told her she could wait in the courtyard until they were released, but they sniggered as she walked away, she assumed it stemmed from their doubt that Natsu and Happy would be released. Lucy wasn't worried, she felt fairly sure that the king would release them...eventually at least, melting half a stadium was no laughing matter, but they'd gotten away with destroying property before. After only twenty minutes Lucy grew impatient, she'd only seen her friends for 2 minutes before they'd been taken into custody and after a year of worrying about them, she wasn't content to just wait. Frowning the blonde contemplated what she could do instead of waiting, but nothing interested her mind, she just wanted to talk to her friends! Lucy knew the guards would be changing at the strike of 5, she only had a few minutes to decide whether or not she'd follow through with the brash plan she was concocting.

At the first stroke of five Lucy burst into action _DONG!_ , pretending to take a leisurely lap around the courtyard Lucy paced until she was out of the guards' sight. _DONG!_ Once she decided she was in the clear Lucy called forth the Gemini twins while simultaneously changing to her Chamaeleon star dress. "Alright Gemini I'm breaking into the castle, while I'm in there you'll pretend to be me so the guards don't suspect anything," Gemini poofed and suddenly another Lucy stood before her. _DONG!_

"Don't worry Lucy, we've got this!" the Gemini Lucy said with a wink and thumbs up, "Say hi to Natsu and Happy for us!"

"I will, but if they come out before me try not to tell them anything. I may take a look around while I'm in there and Natsu would probably just march right back in and blow my cover. Now let's go!" _DONG!_ Lucy ushered Gemini back to the courtyard as she turned herself invisible, just as the new guards arrived through the gate Lucy slipped through the now open doors just as the last stroke rang. _DONG!_

Lucy snuck around the edges of each room as she searched for Natsu and Happy, eventually reaching the throne room. Inside she found Arcadios imploring the king to take Natsu's punishment seriously. _Good, it looks like they won't have to be here too long then..._ A moment later her friends were escorted into the room, both wearing goofy grins on their faces. Lucy smiled and watched as the king laughed and chatted with Natsu. As the conversation grew deeper Lucy slipped away, her main concern having been about their length of punishment but knowing they'd be out within the hour Lucy decided it was the perfect time to check the prison for Solomon.

As she crept down the hallways Lucy followed her carefully studied notes from her conversation with Jellal. With Camille's power of invisibility, everything was a breeze so far, she passed rows and rows of cells, most were empty though a few held savage looking prisoners. Finally, she found the door to the solitary confinement dungeon, beyond the door she knew was a magical barrier that stopped all magic from being used as you walked through; the barrier saw through disguises, blocked attack spells and much more.

On either side of the door was a large guard, if she wanted to get inside she'd need to get rid of them first..Lucy went back around the corner making sure her next actions would go unseen and pulled out a key. Whispering quietly she called her spirit "Open! Gate of the Lion! Leo!"

"Hello, beautiful, did you need something?" Loki now stood beside her with his trademark smile and wink on his face. "Nice invisibility, it looks good on you."

Lucy had forgotten all about her invisibility! She grabbed Loki's arm and watched his form fade away, well really she just saw her invisibility wave through him so she knew he also was now invisible to others.

"I need a distraction! Go cause enough trouble to set off the alarm and draw the guards away from here!" The celestial wizard commanded with a point of her finger.

Loki leaned in slowly with a twinkle in his eye as if to kiss her, "Your wish is my command," when their faces were mere inches apart his expression grew serious, "but be careful Lucy, even if Solomon is still in his cell he's very dangerous." Lucy nodded but the determined expression never left features, Loki glared back until he felt satisfied, he turned abruptly and dashed down the hall. Lucy waited impatiently pressed against the wall until she heard a succession of explosions. BOOM! CRASH! BOOM! It sounded as if someone had set off several large fireworks inside! The lights went out and Lucy was left in darkness

* * *

"Well, we finished a whole year of training so it's probably time to head back to the guild." Hisui and Arcadios shared a shocked look at this remark, the princess was the first to recover.

With a small smile, she turned back to the dragon slayer "Best of luck to you then". They continued to chat with the princess and king when the ground abruptly gave a small tremble, conversation ceased as everyone looked down curiously. Several moments later a guard rushed in and whispered something in Arcadios's ear, but with Natsu's superior ears he heard every word, seemed someone was making a ruckus in the dungeons. Arcadios turned to the king and quietly informed him of the situation, the king broke into a nervous sweat and turned back to Natsu and Happy with a nervous chuckle.

"Well it was nice to see you again Natsu of Fairy Tail, see you later." Hisui gawked at her father's informal goodbye as the king hopped down from his throne. "All guards are to go with Arcadios immediately, we've already had enough excitement for one day so let's get this under control quickly. I trust you boys can find your way out of the castle just fine?"

Happy and Natsu answered in unison "Aye, sir!", Natsu's smile dropped and he swiftly grew serious, "but are you sure you don't want any help in the dungeons right now? Sounds like it's pretty chaotic down there." The tiny king immediately waved his hands frantically in refusal.

"Oh no, you've just finished a year of traveling and must be exhausted! Please don't trouble yourselves!" Natsu tilted his head in confusion but eventually shrugged it off, heading to the door he heard Happy mumble something about the king not wanting the castle destroyed.

* * *

Lucy sat in the darkness with only the dim red light of the flashing alarm to give her any vision, she dropped her chameleon form to preserve her magic, figuring that the almost total darkness would be enough to conceal her for now. She knew that when there was an intruder or an escapee the prison security used this method to either herd the trespasser to an area with waiting guards or to let guards reach the criminal without letting other sections open up. The solitary confinement prison section was the only one to have its barriers up 24/7, but Loki must've found the control section and destroyed it because the guards inside were currently in a frenzy trying to raise them again. The guard shifts could only be relieved by an outside guard with a key (this was a good technique to ensure even more security of the criminals inside), but with the outside guard currently gone to check on the explosion, the guards inside were left stranded.

" _Crap...How do I get inside now? I was just trying to get them to open the door and investigate..._ " Lucy tried to concoct another plan, testing the doors strength with a small kick when she heard someone yell then crash against the door from the inside, it seemed the men were panicking inside and trying to break out! If Solomon was inside was he hurting the guards?! Before she could form another thought the heavy prison door was suddenly flying across the hall kicking up a cloud of dust before it smashed against the opposite end of the long hallway! Lucy scrambled back to her corner just in time for eight large men and four frog-like men to dash through the broken entry. The large men looked much calmer than the frog creatures who were currently gasping in distress.

"Shouldn't we be staying to keep an eye on the prisoners?" one large man asked the frogs, the other large men nodded in agreement. The frogs looked sweaty and nervous.

"All magical security barriers have simultaneously dropped!" one frog croaked "Thank heavens the prison cell barriers didn't drop with them! If we stay in there with the prisoners when they do we'll all be dead men! Those are the country's most dangerous criminals and conspirators!" So Solomon hadn't attacked them Lucy thought in relief, now if she could just slip in behind them she could find out more.

"All the more reason we should stick around, we'll be the first line of defense against them if they escape. You'd think with the recent escapes that you'd want to try to improve the prison's escape record." One of the large men pointed out, the frog-men obviously wanted to leave as soon as possible for their own safety but the larger men seemed to have a stronger honor code than their "superiors". One frog finally gave in.

"Fine then!" he snapped "Two of you will stay behind, one will remain at the door and one will remain inside to watch the criminals, the rest of us will head to the lacrima control room to see if we can remedy the barriers." As they discussed which two would be staying behind Lucy used this as an opportunity to slip in behind them through the broken entryway.

* * *

"Hey, Natsu?"

"Yeah, little buddy?"

"I think we're lost." Natsu stopped in his tracks at Happy's comment.

"You mean _you_ don't know where we're going?" Natsu asked the blue cat,

"Why would _I_ know where we're going? I haven't been here in a year!"

"But I've been following you this whole time!"

"We've passed that same tapestry four times already Natsu, I thought that you were looking for something so I kept following you"

The dragon slayer's mouth dropped open, "But I've been following _you_ this whole time!"

"We've been walking in circles for almost 30 minutes! How did you not notice that it was taking such a long time!" Happy retorted.

"I was thinking about food.." as if on cue both of their stomachs grumbled.

* * *

The inside of the solitary section was pitch black, there were no windows for natural light (they were in a _dungeon_ after all) and there were no alarm lights flashing inside. On one hand, she was grateful for the darkness as that meant no one could see her, guards and prisoners alike; on the other hand, she'd never find anything useful in this! She edged along the wall trying to get as far from the door as possible before she finally trusted no one would accidentally see her change into her Lupus form. Lucy felt her legs and arms elongate into feral claws and her eyesight improved enough for her to see each floating prison cell clearly, each held a slumped figure inside all varying in shape and size.

The room was much larger than she anticipated, who knew that Fiore had so many high-class prisoners! She called Lupus to her side for assistance, Loki was still off draining her magic somewhere else in the dungeons but she knew that time was of the essence and she'd need help gathering information to find out if Solomon was indeed still inside.

"Good afternoon, Alpha" Lupus bowed as he materialized beside her.

"Hello, Lupus." Lucy greeted her friend solemnly, she immediately filled him in on the details and they began their search in the dark, to most anyone else it appeared that two pairs of glowing blue eyes were floating about the room. As the mage sniffed around in her Lupus form she was rewarded with a logbook that, based on its contents, was used for prisoner roll call every day at 7:00 morning and night, perfect! She scanned the names as she flipped through each page searching for her enemy. Finally, she reached it! And right next to it remained an unchecked attendance box.

Lucy felt her heart drop. She'd known this was a possibility, that it was even likely due to her previous attack, but to see the proof before her eyes crushed any hope of avoiding the approaching confrontation. Her body chilled at the thought.

"Who are you sssearching for, woman?"

 **OOOOOOooooo who could be asking her that!? If anything was unclear or confusing in this chapter please let me know! I'll be happy to explain and edit the story accordingly :) SEE YOU SATURDAY!**


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

"Who are you sssearching for, woman?" Lucy spun around, her eyes searching the darkness for the voice, but none of the convicts she could see were looking directly at her, the voice had been so quiet she doubted anyone without heightened hearing would've heard it. Even if they strained their eyes in the darkness they would only see a pair dimly glowing blue eyes floating in the darkness. "I am above you, celessstial mage." Her glowing eyes snapped upward where they were met with snake like ones looking straight into hers.

The eyes belonged to a skinny crouching man with scaly skin, if it was light inside the room Lucy was sure it would have a greenish tint to it. "Whoa," she automatically recoiled, "who are you?" she asked quietly, assuming he could hear what she said based on his earlier whisperings. He chuckled quietly not bothering to cover his sharp canines as his forked tongue slipped in and out between them.

"Dissgusted by me are you? How disssappointing..." Though he'd laughed he looked kind of...dejected. Lucy felt bad for how she reacted, so she began searching for a way to reach him.

"Ummm...Is there a way I can...? With gestures she acted out reaching his eye level, not even sure he could see her.

"Yes, the wardens use those." pointing towards a podium he explained that they were used to float around amongst the cells.

Once Lucy reached his floating cell with the podium she asked him his name.

"I am Uroko, might I know your name as well?" She didn't know if she could trust this criminal yet, but she needed to tell him something! She finally settled on on her fight club alias.

"I'm Violet, it's nice to meet you, but how can you see me?"

"I don't ssee the same way as other humans in the dark, I am really just seeing your heat ssignature with my infrared vision, and from the shape of you I'd guesss that you're quite attractive." _Other humans? He thinks he's a man?_ "Now, _Violet_ , who are you sssearching for?"

Lucy figured it couldn't hurt since she hadn't given him her real name, so she explained the situation with Solomon, withholding any info that she felt was too sensitive. At the mention of his name Uroko shivered. "That _man_ was full of a very ancient darkness. He came to prison purposely, saying that he was searching for _recruits..._ However I don't believe that to be true, whomever he decided to _recruit_ became vegetables within days. Their heat signatures used to be bright with power, but after he _spoke_ with them they changed significantly."

What could Solomon have done to the inmates? "Are any of his _recruits_ still here?" Lucy inquired, maybe if she saw one she'd understand what he'd done to them.

"Unfortunately only one remainsss, but he's bound to die any day. None of the _recruitsss_ he chose made it very long after his visit, the longest to survive only lived 3 weeksss."

"Did you ever see what he did to them?" Lucy asked, scared of the answer.

"Yesss, but I loathe the memory." She understood, Solomon's actions had made him deserve his solitary cell.

"What did you do to be put in prison?" Her question rang too loudly in the large room and she cringed at the ringing her ears picked up. Thank goodness the guard had yet to take up his post inside, though she doubted she had much longer, she'd need to make this quick. Uroko cringed as well, but Lucy didn't think it was at the volume of her voice.

"Alpha," Lupus's gravelly voice reached her ears on her floating platform and she peaked over the edge to find her wolfy friend waiting below, "the guard will be inside soon, what are you doing?" at his words Lucy made a decision.

"Why are you in prison, Uroko? I may be willing to make a deal with you if I think you're deserving of it." The wolfish celestial mage crossed her arms and glared at the prisoner.

"Deal?" Uroko chuckled harshly " What can you possssibly offer?"

"Freedom, but not escape. I would have your case reopened to declare your possible innocence." He swiftly sprang up and banged his fists against his cell wall, his eyes glowing savagely.

"What cassse!?" he spat "I never saw a court, never even sssaw the king! I was thrown into thisss cell without knowing my crime until after I became a rotting jailbird!" Lupus was growling below as his Alpha was threatened. "So, pray tell, how would you do thiss, and what would I do in return for this kindnessss that was already denied me once!?" Even through his rage this snake-man's speech remained eloquent, but Lucy wouldn't allow herself to be intimidated.

"I happen to be good friends with the royal family, and I'm sure that it was a mistake putting you in here without any kind of hearing. What did they accuse you of? Tell me quickly before my time's up." She waited for his response.

"Something despicable...I was once a language tutor for children," _that explains the fancy words._ "and they accused me of eating the children I tutored...all based on my grotesque appearance.." His voice had dropped significantly and Lucy had to sigh gratefully for this.

"The children sstarted disappearing in our village and the parents were in an outrage, without anyone to blame there wass widessspread panic and accusationss. Without any evidence the town sheriff had me arresssted jusst to calm the people down, and being charged with such a heinous act on my record I was thrown in here without a sssecond thought. I could never do that to my pupilss, they meant the world to me, and I vow to find the true culprit if I ever get out of here, and he will rue the day he set eyes on them."

Lucy's heart squeezed at the thought of his unfair treatment and the children that were lost, but she wiped away her feelings, she still needed more information from Uroko. "Tell me what Solomon did and I will talk to the king, he will listen to a wizard that helped save his kingdom."

Uroko looked surprised at her statement, but he knew this wasn't the time. "He took ssomething from each of them, I don't know what it wasss but afterwards none of them would glow, the prisoner's magic seemed to just disappear into thin air and Solomon would grow dimmer. I have never met a human that wasssss still alive when they were that dark." Lucy had her suspicions but she'd need to be sure.

"When he did that how did it make you feel? How many prisoners did he do this to? I know they're odd questions, but humor me." Uroko trembled at her question.

"Three times he did this over the years, but no prisoners ever spoke of what happened fearing he would seek them out. It was as if the very flesh of my body wanted to crawl away and leave my bones, I've never felt sssuch fear; like every light in the world had been sssnuffed out and with no hope of illuminating the earth again." So that's why he came here, Lucy thought as Uroko shook.

"HEY!" Lucy swiveled towards the voice "Who are you!?" The guard had finally been ordered inside.

"Thank you, Uroko. I hope you hear from me soon." with those final words she leaped to the ground, leaving the the podium floating in front of Uroko's cell. The guard was blocking the door, they'd have to go through him. "Lupus, let's go." They ran directly at the guard, Lupus in front and Lucy following, "I don't want to hurt him." Lupus nodded at her words. He reached his hands behind him for his Alpha, and once she deemed them close enough to the guard she grabbed his hands.

Lupus sent her flying over head, as she soared through several tucked flips she transformed to Chamaeleon and Lupus star dress, and landing lithely behind the guard she swiftly swept his legs out from under him but using Lupus's strength she caught him before his head could hit the ground. Looking at them it seemed like the blonde had simply dipped him during a dance, one of the guard's feet had even popped up into an accidental point. Before the guard could react Lucy swiftly karate chopped a pressure point between his neck and shoulder sending him into a forced slumber, and gently lowered him to the floor.

"Brutus? Did you see something? We heard you yelling..." Another two guards appeared in the doorway and were now staring at her! Lucy reacted instinctively, quickly snatching hold of both their heads and bashing them against one another with enough force to knock them each out.

"I thought you didn't want to hurt anyone Alpha." Lupus chided her from behind, "It's difficult to keep up with your orders." Lucy glared back at him.

"Shut up and run." Turning on her heel she dashed from the solitary holding room into the flashing red hallway, sprinting down the hallway and ignoring her instinct to turn invisible. She'd focus on strength until she was somewhere she could be easily identified _then_ she'd change. They were fast approaching a crowd of guards, but they dashed directly through them. Upon reaching the other side they found Loki fighting more of them off with ease.

"Loki, it's time to go!" He ignored her, in a fighting flow that was hard to interrupt. Lupus swiftly stepped forward dodging flying bodies until he finally reached close enough to put a hand on Loki's shoulder.

"Beta, we must protect her." At his words Loki shook his head, clearing his mind. Looking at Lucy he nodded for her to lead on. They continued their mad dash to the exit ducking in side hallways from time to time to avoid a sprinting guard. On one such occasion Lupus questioned her about her earlier conversation.

"Do you know what Solomon was doing?" He asked, Lucy swallowed at the thought of her theory, but nodded.

"Yes, I think so...You both know that he uses sins to gain his power, well when I last saw him he only had Wrath, I believe he came here to find the other sins. If someone is strongly enough aligned with a sin it will naturally start to materialize within their soul. Solomon took a sin from each of them, but with that he took parts of each of their souls. In a sense they're still alive, just without any physical form."

"So they've somehow...transformed?" Lupus asked

"In a manner of speaking." Lucy explained. "They can never change back though, and it's their number one motivator." The only response she received was silent confused expressions. Lucy sighed "I'll explain it later."

"Okay...now we're really lost, Natsu!" Happy whined overhead, "Can't you just sniff our way out of here?"

Natsu smacked his own forehead "Oh yeah! I can totally do that!" His little blue friend sighed and shook his head, how could Natsu forget his amazing sense of smell? The dragon slayer sniffed the air a few times, turning this way and that way until he gave one final deep dsniff, and smiled. "Don't worry little buddy, we'll be out of here in no time!" and with his ragged cape flowing started running down the hallway, "just follow me!"

"Aye sir!"

As the trio ran past the cells several groups of guards tried to stop them, but failed. Each time they came across a new cluster, Loki and Lupus would bulldoze through with Lucy following close behind. As they grew closer to the exit she could feel her magic getting critically low.

"Alright boys, it's time for you to go. I can't keep you much longer anyways." Sending them back mid stride Lucy turned her focus to just turning and remaining invisible. She could see the curving staircase leading to the floors above.

Squishing herself as much as she could against the cold stone wall she began to inch past the guards in front of the door with a pause...and slide, pause...and slide, pause...and slide. She was doing so well, the guards didn't suspect a thing! Until with her next slide she realized she had caught a small (like miniscule) rock on the bottom of her shoe turning her pause and slide into a pause and scraaaaaapppee. Awkward... the guards immediately sprang into action!

"Who goes there!?" Lucy allowed her staff to materialize and answered each guard with a quick thwack with just enough force to smack them to the ground, allowing her enough time to dash by and up the stairs while they were still recovering. After that it was easy work exiting the castle, most servants had been sent away to ensure their safety while the remaining guards were all the newbies, left upstairs to stay out of the way. They were currently running around like chickens with their heads cut off, unsure of their duties and unsure who to take orders from.

Lucy slipped by with no problem, reaching a servant's exit through the kitchens after which she began to scale the castle wall. With the assistance of Camille's powers and with a final vault she flew over and dived straight into the waiting courtyard. Landing in a crouch she surveyed the courtyard looking for any sign Gemini or Natsu, she quickly spotted her disguised spirits and walked right up to them.

"Alright twins, time for you to head back now." Gemini followed Lucy back to the wall where they could be out of sight.

"Did you say hello for us?" The spirit asked with such a sweet expression on their borrowed face that Lucy had to chuckle as she let her invisibility drop and with it her Chamaeleon star dress.

"I didn't, I'm sorry guys, but hey that just means you get to say it to him yourselves!" Even though she knew the person standing before her was in fact Gemini it still felt odd consoling someone with her own face. "You two did great today, I'll talk to you soon!" They disappeared in a flash of golden light and Lucy was left alone. Now that all her spirits were returned and all her star dress forms gone the celestial wizard realized how tired everything had actually made her.

Lucy relaxed outside the door of the castle grounds entrance and waited for her friends to emerge, but she didn't wait long.

"AND DON'T COME BACK!" _sounds like they made it out_ , Lucy smiled.

Both Natsu and Happy took the news about Fairy Tail pretty hard and Lucy couldn't blame them, watching their reaction was like watching herself in a memory. The same questions, the same denial, anger, and the hurt. It all came rushing back as the boys yelled about what should've happened instead and their exclamations of their friends' behaviors. Lucy almost lost her temper but in the end managed to calm them both down, at least temporarily.

That night they were just as messy, oblivious, idiotic, and absolutely completely lovable as before. They acted as if they'd only been gone a week instead of an entire year, and Lucy felt herself fall into the same routine. She'd much rather reconnect with her friends than talk about things that could tear them away from her again. They would likely be leaving soon and Lucy wanted to keep their relationship good in case something unthinkable happened...

That night as she rested she slept easier than she had in months, the knowledge of Natsu and Happy being in the other room completely alive and unharmed easing her stressed mind into a deep and well deserved slumber. She'd need to wake up early if she wanted to collaborate with her spirits the next day without the boys noticing. For the first time in a year she didn't worry about Solomon finding her, she knew if he did Natsu would have her back through it all.

Early the next morning Lucy called Virgo to her room.

"Good morning, Princess." Virgo greeted with her blank face, "It's a little early for punishment, but I can't think of a better way to start the day." Lucy sighed and her shoulders sagged at the spirit's persistence on being punished.

"No Virgo, I had something else in mind this morning. Do you think I could be allowed into the spirit world this morning. There's something I need to discuss with all of you and I'd rather not do it here where we might wake up Natsu and Happy.

"I'll ask the Spirit King, but Princess," Virgo tilted her head "why not bring the dragon slayer and exceed with you?" Lucy immediately shook her head.

"No, at least not yet. I just got them back, how could I ask them to help me with something so big so soon? If they got hurt..." Flashes of Lucy's nightmares brushed her thoughts. "I can't let that happen. Please go ask the Spirit King and come back quickly with his response." Virgo disappeared and while the spirit mage waited she washed up and brushed her teeth as quietly as possible, looking at the clock she saw the time, 5:00 AM. They should be asleep for a while Lucy thought, of course when she returned she'd need to ask the king to return her to correct time so as to avoid another 3 month absence into the spirit world.

Virgo reappeared just as she finished a quiet breakfast of bread of cheese.

"Princess the king has accepted your request, here are some clothes for the spirit world." After Lucy finished changing she reemerged from her bedroom wearing a flowing emerald and sapphire dress that flowed around her ankles as she walked. She felt very elegant in the slim dress with it's empire waist and sweet-heart neckline.

"Thank you for the dress Virgo, it's beautiful!" Lucy exclaimed "Though a tad impractical." she mumbled when she turned away to grab her whip which she proceeded to wrap around her thigh hidden under the dress. "Okay, I'm ready."

 **Hey guys...sorry for such a long absence...anyway..what do you think? Please forgive me!**


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